scholarly journals Placental markers of folate-related metabolism in preeclampsia

Reproduction ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Mislanova ◽  
O Martsenyuk ◽  
B Huppertz ◽  
M Obolenskaya

The etiology and degree of clinical symptoms of preeclampsia depend on genotypic and phenotypic maternal and trophoblast factors, and elevated levels of plasma homocysteine (Hcy) are one of the pathogenetic factors of preeclampsia. To assess the impact of the folate-related metabolism, we characterized the indices of this metabolism in 40 samples from uncomplicated term placentas and 28 samples from preeclamptic pregnancies by quantifying the total content of folate, methionine (Met), Hcy and related cysteine, and glutathione (GSH) in compliance with the 677 C/T genotype of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). The prevalence ofMTHFRgenotypes was not significantly different between the two groups. The polymorphism ofMTHFRwas not unambiguously connected with the content of total placental Met, Hcy and related cysteine, and GSH either in uncomplicated or in complicated pregnancies. By contrast, the combination of the heterozygousMTHFRgenotype with folate deficiency in the samples from preeclamptic pregnancies was characterized by a statistically significant decrease in the Met content, a trend toward increased Hcy levels and a tight association between metabolically directly and indirectly related compounds, e.g. positive relation between Hcy versus cysteine and folate versus GSH and negative relation between folate versus Hcy and both Hcy and cysteine versus GSH. We demonstrated the expression of cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) in human placenta at term by RT-PCR and western blot analysis, for the first time, and confirmed its catalytic activity and the accumulation of cysteine and CBS in placental explants cultivated in the presence of elevated Hcy concentrations. We suggest that disturbance in placental folate-related metabolism may be one of the pathogenetic factors in preeclampsia.

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 854-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed A Zaghawa ◽  
Fadhel Housawi ◽  
Abdulmohsen Al-Naeem ◽  
Ahmed Elsify ◽  
Yamen Mohammed Hegazy

Introduction: Bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV) is an arthropod borne Rhabdovirus affects cattle and water buffalo causes acute febrile disease. Methodology: The clinical picture and epidemiological pattern of BEF were described among cattle in epidemics of 2007, 2009 and 2011 in four geographical regions of Kingdom Saudi Arabia (Eastern, Jizan, Qasim, and Riyadh). Serum samples were tested using VNT. Virus isolation and molecular characterization were carried out for the first time in KSA. Results: The main clinical symptoms were fever, stiffness, lameness, salivation and subcutaneous emphysema. The prevalence and the mortality rate of BEF have decreased from 70% and 4.6% in 2007 to 30% and 0.6% in 2011, respectively in the 4 studied areas. There was no region association with higher prevalence of BEF. The intracluster correlation (ICC) was estimated for the first time in KSA as 0.0034. BEFV had been isolated from 11 out of 20 samples (55%) and isolation was confirmed by VNT. The molecular detection of BEFV by RT-PCR and real- time RT-qPCR were found more sensitive for diagnosis of the disease than virus isolation; 80% and 90% for the former tests and 55% for the latter. Three isolates were sequenced, they showed 84.7% - 100% identities in between and shared 90.4%-96.5% sequence identity with a previously published sequence from Australia (KF679404). The generated sequences belonged to 3rd cluster of BEFV glycoprotein. Conclusions: BEF occurrence has cyclic nature and the efficacy of vaccines prepared from local strains has to be evaluated and considered in diseases control.


Author(s):  
Ali A. Hasab

Abstract Background: Given the attention on COVID-19 testing and its role in helping to halt the spread of COVID-19 Pandemic, wider testing is urgently needed for successful pandemic control. The level of the test’s performance is also important for effective management of the different stages of the pandemic.Objectives: To study the impact of RT-PCR testing in control of COVID-19 Pandemic and validity of RT-PCR as a predictor for COVID- 19 diseaseMethods: The data was collected essentially by using secondary data. All cases and deaths in WHO Situation Reports and total tests in Worldometer were included in the study. Wolfram Player 12 software was used for the Susceptible Infected Recovered (SIR) epidemic dynamics of COVID-19. Survival analysis was carried out to determine the cumulative proportional survival of COVID-19 in Egypt. Six studies discussing the validity of RT-PCR was also reanalyzed. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to study the diagnostic performance of RT-PCR.Results: There was a negative correlation between both case fatality rate of COVID-19 and reproductive rate with RT-PCR tests performed . This difference is significant (r = - 0.307 and. – 0.361) respectively. RT-PCR had a sensitivity of 61.19%, Specificity 94.75%% and an accuracy of 76.72%. The area under the ROC (AUC) for RT-PCR was 0.780.Conclusion and recommendation: RT-PCR testing will continue to be needed. It reduced the case fatality and reproduction rates of COVID-19 Pandemic. The AUC for RT-PCR is less than optimal. The combination of clinical symptoms, exposure history and CT must be considered to identify COVID-19 with higher sensitivity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (45) ◽  
pp. 319-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson A. West ◽  
Marie A. Caudill

Folate and choline are water-soluble micronutrients that serve as methyl donors in the conversion of homocysteine to methionine. Inadequacy of these nutrients can disturb one-carbon metabolism as evidenced by alterations in circulating folate and/or plasma homocysteine. Among common genetic variants that reside in genes regulating folate absorptive and metabolic processes, homozygosity for the MTHFR 677C > T variant has consistently been shown to have robust effects on status markers. This paper will review the impact of genetic variants in folate-metabolizing genes on folate and choline bioefficacy. Nutrient-gene and gene-gene interactions will be considered along with the need to account for these genetic variants when updating dietary folate and choline recommendations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bibi Tahira ◽  
Naveed Saif ◽  
Muhammad Haroon ◽  
Sadaqat Ali

The current study tries to understand the diverse nature of relationship between personality Big Five Model (PBFM) and student's perception of abusive supervision in higher education institutions of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Pakistan. Data was collected in dyads i.e. (supervisors were asked to rate their personality attributes while student were asked to rate the supervisor behavior) through adopted construct. For this purpose, data was collected from three government state universities and one Private Sector University. The focus was on MS/M.Phill and PhD student and their supervisors of the mentioned universities. After measuring normality and validity regression analysis was conducted to assess the impact of supervisor personality characteristics that leads to abusive supervision. Findings indicate interestingly that except agreeableness other four attributes of (PBFM) are play their role for abusive supervision. The results are novel in the nature as for the first time Neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion and conscientiousness are held responsible for the abusive supervision. The study did not explore the demographic characteristics, and moderating role of organizational culture, justice and interpersonal deviances to understand the strength of relationship in more detail way. Keywords: Personality big five model, abusive supervision, HEIs


2019 ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Ben Nengjun ◽  
Zhou Pengfei ◽  
Oleksandr Labartkava ◽  
Mykhailo Samokhin

This work involves an analysis of high-chromium high-temperature deformable wieldable nickel alloys for use in GTE repair assemblies. It is shown that the alloys EP868 (VZh98) and Haynes 230 can be used in welded assemblies with an operating temperature of 800-1100 °C. The alloys Nimonic 81, Nimonic 91, IN 935, IN 939, and Nicrotan 2100 GT also have a high potential for use in welded assemblies. They are characterized by a combination of good weldability, high-temperature strength, and resistance to scaling. There have been conducted studies on high-temperature salt corrosion of model nickel alloys. They allowed establishing the patterns of the impact of base metal alloying with chromium, aluminum, titanium, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, niobium, tantalum and rare earth metals on the critical temperature of the start of salt corrosion Tcor and the alloy mass loss. It has been established that alloys with a moderate concentration (13-16%) of chromium can possess satisfactory hightemperature corrosion resistance (HTC resistance) under the operating conditions of ship GTE. The HTC resistance of CrAl-Ti alloys improves upon reaching the ratio Ti/Al ˃ 1. Meanwhile, the ratio Ti/Al ˂ 1 promotes the formation of corrosion products with low protective properties. The positive effect of tantalum on the HTC resistance of alloys is manifested at higher test temperatures than that of titanium, and the total content of molybdenum and tungsten in alloys is limited by the condition 8Mo2 – 2W2 = 89. The presence of refractory elements stabilizes the strengthening phase and prevents formation of the ɳ-phase. However, their excess promotes formation of the embrittling topologically close packed (TCP) phases and boundary carbides of an unfavorable morphology. Based on the studies of the HTC resistance, there has been identified a class of model high-temperature corrosionresistant nickel alloys with a moderate or high chromium content (30%), Ti/Al ˃ 1, and a balanced content of refractory and rare-earth elements.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupesh Rastogi ◽  
Virendra Kumar

The first legislation in India relating to patents was the Act VI of 1856. The Indian Patents and Design Act, 1911 (Act II of 1911) replaced all the previous Acts. The Act brought patent administration under the management of Controller of Patents for the first time. After Independence, it was felt that the Indian Patents & Designs Act, 1911 was not fulfilling its objective. Various comities were constituted to recommend, framing a patent law which can fulfill the requirement of Indian Industry and people. The Indian Patent Act of 1970 was enacted to achieve the above objectives. The major provisions of the act, provided for process, not the product patents in food, medicines, chemicals with a term of 14 years and 5-7 for chemicals and drugs. The Act enabled Indian citizens to access cheapest medicines in the world and paved a way for exponential growth of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry. TRIPS agreement, which is one of the important results of the Uruguay Round, mandated strong patent protection, especially for pharmaceutical products, thereby allowing the patenting of NCEs, compounds and processes. India is thereby required to meet the minimum standards under the TRIPS Agreement in relation to patents and the pharmaceutical industry. India’s patent legislation must now include provisions for availability of patents for both pharmaceutical products and processes inventions. The present paper examines the impact of change in Indian Patent law on Pharmaceutical Industry.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabana Bibi ◽  
Ayesha Sarfraz ◽  
Ghazala Mustafa ◽  
Zeeshan Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Aurang Zeb ◽  
...  

Background: Coronavirus Disease-2019 belongs to the family of viruses which cause a serious pneumonia along with fever, breathing issues and infection of lungs for the first time in China and later spread worldwide. Objective: Several studies and clinical trials have been conducted to identify potential drugs and vaccines for Coronavirus Disease-2019. The present study listed natural secondary metabolites identified from plant sources with antiviral properties and could be safer and tolerable treatment for Coronavirus Disease-2019. Methods: A comprehensive search on the reported studies was conducted using different search engine such as Google scholar, SciFinder, Sciencedirect, Medline PubMed, and Scopus for the collection of research articles based on plantderived secondary metabolites, herbal extracts, and traditional medicine for coronavirus infections. Results: Status of COVID-19 worldwide and information of important molecular targets involved in COVID-19 is described and through literature search, is highlighted that numerous plant species and their extracts possess antiviral properties and studied with respect to Coronavirus treatments. Chemical information, plant source, test system type with mechanism of action for each secondary metabolite is also mentioned in this review paper. Conclusion: The present review has listed plants that have presented antiviral potential in the previous coronavirus pandemics and their secondary metabolites which could be significant for the development of novel and a safer drug which could prevent and cure coronavirus infection worldwide.


Author(s):  
Elli Anagnostou ◽  
Alexia Kafkoutsou ◽  
Despina Mavrogianni ◽  
Ekaterini Domali ◽  
Evangelia Dimitroulia ◽  
...  

Background: Molecular biology tools, such as the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), have been considered to assist to the management of the ovarian stimulation protocols. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of two polymorphisms, the Asn680Ser polymorphism of the FSHR gene, and the FSH β subunit (FSHβ) gene polymorphism -211 G>T, in a Greek population of women undergoing IVF/ICSI program in our center. In addition, a control group of fertile women was studied, to verify whether there are differences in the genotype distribution between fertile and infertile population for both polymorphisms, as the FSHβ gene polymorphism -211 G>T is studied for the first time in the Greek population. Results : The FSH β-211 G>T polymorphism, studied for the first time in the Greek infertile population, appears to be quite rare. When studying the two polymorphisms separately, statistically significant differences were obtained that concerned the LH levels. Discussion: According to the combination analysis of the two polymorphisms by the number of alleles, women with 2-3 polymorphic alleles needed more days of stimulation, but there were no differences in pregnancy rates. Conclusion: This molecular genetic study helps to elucidate whether the polygenic combination of the Asn680Ser and FSH β subunit -211 G>T gene polymorphisms is of additive value in the prediction of ovarian response to exogenous gonadotropins.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 568-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jainara Santos do Nascimento ◽  
João Carlos Silva Conceição ◽  
Eliane de Oliveira Silva

Coumarins are natural 1,2-benzopyrones, present in remarkable amounts as secondary metabolites in edible and medicinal plants. The low yield in the coumarins isolation from natural sources, along with the difficulties faced by the total synthesis, make them attractive for biotechnological studies. The current literature contains several reports on the biotransformation of coumarins by fungi, which can generate chemical analogs with high selectivity, using mild and eco-friendly conditions. Prompted by the enormous pharmacological interest in the coumarin-related compounds, their alimentary and chemical applications, this review covers the biotransformation of coumarins by filamentous fungi. The chemical structures of the analogs were presented and compared with those from the pattern structures. The main chemical reactions catalyzed the insertion of functional groups, and the impact on the biological activities caused by the chemical transformations were discussed. Several chemical reactions can be catalyzed by filamentous fungi in the coumarin scores, mainly lactone ring opening, C3-C4 reduction and hydroxylation. Chunninghamella sp. and Aspergillus sp. are the most common fungi used in these transformations. Concerning the substrates, the biotransformation of pyranocoumarins is a rarer process. Sometimes, the bioactivities were improved by the chemical modifications and coincidences with the mammalian metabolism were pointed out.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 413-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Farouk Allam

Due to the international spread of COVID-19, the difficulty of collecting nasopharyngeal swab specimen from all suspected patients, the costs of RT-PCR and CT, and the false negative results of RT-PCR assay in 41% of COVID-19 patients, a scoring system is needed to classify the suspected patients in order to determine the need for follow-up, home isolation, quarantine or the conduction of further investigations. A scoring system is proposed as a diagnostic tool for suspected patients. It includes Epidemiological Evidence of Exposure, Clinical Symptoms and Signs, and Investigations (if available). This scoring system is simple, could be calculated in a few minutes, and incorporates the main possible data/findings of any patient.


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