Thomasbarrera6134

The traditional approach for measuring myelin-associated water with quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses multi-echo T2 relaxation data to calculate the myelin water fraction (MWF). A fundamentally different approach, abbreviated "mcDESPOT", uses a more efficient steady-state acquisition to generate an equivalent metric (fM). Although previous studies have demonstrated inherent instability and bias in the complex mcDESPOT analysis procedure, fM has often been used as a surrogate for MWF. We produced and compared multivariate atlases of MWF and fM in healthy human brain and cervical spinal cord (available online) and compared their ability to detect multiple sclerosis pathology. A significant bias was found in all regions (p   ~ 10%, the relationship broke down and fM no longer increased in tandem with MWF. For multiple sclerosis patients, MWF and fM Z score maps showed overlapping areas of low Z score and similar trends between patients and brain regions, although those of fM generally had greater spatial extent and magnitude of severity. These results will guide future choice of myelin-sensitive quantitative MRI and improve interpretation of studies using either myelin imaging approach.Acute ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) liver injury is a clinical condition challenging to treat. Meldonium is an anti-ischemic agent that shifts energy production from fatty acid oxidation to less oxygen-consuming glycolysis. Thus, we investigated the effects of a 4-week meldonium pre-treatment (300 mg/kg b.m./day) on the acute I/R liver injury in Wistar strain male rats. Our results showed that meldonium ameliorates I/R-induced liver inflammation and injury, as confirmed by liver histology, and by attenuation of serum alanine- and aspartate aminotransferase activity, serum and liver high mobility group box 1 protein expression, and liver expression of Bax/Bcl2, haptoglobin, and the phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells. Through the increased hepatic activation of the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, meldonium improves the antioxidative defence in the liver of animals subjected to I/R, as proved by an increase in serum and liver ascorbic/dehydroascorbic acid ratio, hepatic haem oxygenase 1 expression, glutathione and free thiol groups content, and hepatic copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activity. Based on our results, it can be concluded that meldonium represent a protective agent against I/R-induced liver injury, with a clinical significance in surgical procedures.Complementary optical and neutron-based vibrational spectroscopy techniques (Infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering) were applied to the study of human bones (femur and humerus) burned simultaneously under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions, in a wide range of temperatures (400 to 1000 °C). This is the first INS study of human skeletal remains heated in an oxygen-deprived atmosphere. Clear differences were observed between both types of samples, namely the absence of hydroxyapatite's OH vibrational bands in bone burned anaerobically (in unsealed containers), coupled to the presence of cyanamide (NCNH2) and portlandite (Ca(OH)2) in these reductive conditions. These results are expected to allow a better understanding of the heat effect on bone´s constituents in distinct environmental settings, thus contributing for an accurate characterisation of both forensic and archaeological human skeletal remains found in distinct scenarios regarding oxygen availability.Fipronil (FIP) is a phenylpyrazole insecticide that is commonly used in agricultural and veterinary fields for controlling a wide range of insects, but it is a strong environmentally toxic substance. Exposure to FIP has been reported to increase the hepatic fat accumulation through altered lipid metabolism, which ultimately can contribute to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development. The present study aimed to examine the function of cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeNPs) in protecting against hepatotoxicity and lipogenesis induced by FIP. Twenty-eight male albino rats were classified into four groups FIP (5 mg/kg/day per os), CTR, CeNPs (35 mg/kg/day p.o.), and FIP + CeNPs (5 (FIP) + 35 (CeNPs) mg/kg/day p.o.) for 28 consecutive days. Serum lipid profiles, hepatic antioxidant parameters and pathology, and mRNA expression of adipocytokines were assessed. The results revealed that FIP increased cholesterol, height-density lipoprotein, triacylglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL-c) concentrations. It also increased nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) hepatic levels and reduced glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activities. Additionally, FIP up-regulated the fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), acetyl Co-A carboxylase (ACC1), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α). Immunohistochemically, a strong proliferation of cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) reactions in the endothelial cells of the hepatic sinusoids, and increased expression of caspase3 were observed following FIP intoxication. FIP also caused histological changes in hepatic tissue. The CeNPs counteracted the hepatotoxic effect of FIP exposure. So, this study recorded an ameliorative effect of CeNPs against FIP-induced hepatotoxicity.To compare the encapsulation of annatto extract by external gelation (EG) and internal gelation (IG) and to maximize process yield (% Y), two central composite designs were proposed. Calcium chloride (CaCl2) concentration (0.3-3.5%), alginate to gelling solution ratio (12-16); acetic acid (CH3COOH) concentration (0.2-5.0%) and alginate to gelling solution ratio (12-16) were taken as independent variables for EG and IG respectively. Release studies were conducted under different conditions; morphology, particle size, the encapsulation efficiency (EE), and release mechanism were evaluated under optimized conditions. The optimized EG conditions were 0.3% CaCl2 and 11.2 alginate to gelling solution ratio, whereas a 0.3% CH3COOH and 15 alginate to gelling solution ratio were optimized conditions for IG. find more When 20% extract was employed, the highest EE was achieved, and the largest release was obtained at a pH 6.5 buffer. The Peppas-Sahlin model presented the best fit to experimental data. Polyphenol release was driven by diffusion, whereas bixin showed anomalous release.