Does ( −)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate protects the neurotoxicity induced by bisphenol A in vivo?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the chemicals that is firmly accompanied by hippocampal neuronal injury. As oxidative stress appears to be a major contributor to neurotoxicity induced by BPA, antioxidants with remarkable neuroprotective effects can play a valuable protective role. Around the world, ( −)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was one of the most popular antioxidants that could exert a beneficial neuroprotective role. Here, we examined the potential efficiency of EGCG against neurotoxicity induced by BPA in the hippocampal CA3 region of the rat model. This study revealed that EGCG was unable to abrogate the significant decrease in circulating adiponectin level and hippocampal superoxide dismutase activity as well as an increase in hippocampal levels of nitric oxide and malondialdehyde. Notably, EGCG failed to antagonize the oxidative inhibitory effect of BPA on hippocampal neurotransmission and its associated cognitive deficits. In addition, the histopathological examination with immunohistochemical detection of caspase-3 and NF-kB/p65 emphasized that EGCG failed to protect hippocampal CA3 neurons from apoptotic and necrotic effects induced by BPA. Our study revealed that EGCG showed no protective role against the neurotoxic effect caused by BPA, which may be attributed to its failure to counteract the BPA-induced oxidative stress in vivo. The controversial effect is probably related to EGCG’s ability to impede BPA glucuronidation and thus, its detoxification. That inference requires further additional experimental and clinical studies. Graphical abstract

Study of Ear Biometrics Based Identification System Using Machine Learning

Within the biometric industry, computerized person identification using ear pictures is a hot topic. The ear, like other biometrics like the face, iris, and fingerprints, contains a huge number of particular and unique traits that may be used to identify a person. Due to the mask-wearing scenario, most face detection methods fail in this present international COVID-19 pandemic. The eardrum is a great data source for inactive person authentication since it doesn't necessitate the person we're attempting to pinpoint to cooperate, and the structure of the ear doesn't change significantly over time.. The acquisition of a human ear is also simple because the ear is apparent even while wearing a mask. An ear biometric system can enhance other biometric technology in an automated person identification system by giving authentication cues when other information is unreliable or even missing. We provide a six-layer deep convolutional architecture for ear identification in this paper. On the IITD ear dataset, the deep network's potential efficiency is assessed. The IITD has a detection performance of 97.36 percent for the deep network model and 96.99 percent for the IITD. When paired with a competent surveillance system, this approach can be beneficial in identifying people in a large crowd. Keywords: Biometrics, Person identification, IIT-D, Deep learning, Ear dataset

Strength and Toughness of Waste Fishing Net Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

In this study, we estimate the potential efficiency of waste fishing net (WFN) fibers as concrete reinforcements. Three WFN fiber concentrations (1, 2, and 3% by volume) were mixed with concrete. Compressive strength, toughness, splitting tensile strength, and biaxial flexural tests were conducted. Compressive strength decreased but other properties increased as a function of fiber proportions. According to the mechanical strength observations and the ductility number, WFN fibers yielded benefits in crack arresting that improved the postcracking behavior and transformed concrete from a brittle into a quasi-brittle material. It is inferred that WFN fiber is a recycled and eco-friendly material that can be utilized as potential concrete reinforcement.

State Awards as a Factor of Activation of the Donor Movement in Russia

The article is devoted to the problem of deficiency of donor blood and its components in the Russian Federation. The author points out the reasons that affect the willingness of citizens to participate in the donor movement and proposes solutions to improve the efficiency of donors activities. Including — in the sphere of social problems that are not directly related to the preparation of blood and its components due to the «activation» by the power structures of the unifying function of individual power symbols — state awards. The author also raises the question of amending the regulation on the Luka Krymsky medal and the statute of the Pirogov Order in order to increase the percentage of citizens of our country in the donor movement and their further involvement in social programs as donors and volunteers as part of their membership in the official order organization, the potential efficiency of which is confirmed by European practice.

Biogenic metallic nanoparticles and their anticancer activities: Biotechnological perspectives

Cancer is considered to be a dreaded disease throughout the world. There are many different types of drugs available to treat this disease. Nowadays, scientists are engaged to develop drugs at the nanoscale. The nano-drugs are found to exhibit more efficiency and accuracy. Nanotechnology is an emerging technology dealing with the development of nano-particles and nanostructures. These substances have acquired significance because of their size, shape and potential efficiency as well as specificity. Nano-particles mediated drugs were very focusing, emerging objective regarding the use of different types of nanoparticles as carrier to treat cancerous tumors and cancer cells. Medicinal lysis or synthesis of nanoparticles with biological procedures has become very much significant due to their specific efficacy and lesser harms compared to other available medicines used for cancer. In this review, green plants, their active compounds and metallic nano-particles are discussed with emphasis on their anticancer activities and properties.

Altered collective mitochondrial dynamics in an Arabidopsis msh1 mutant compromising organelle DNA maintenance

Mitochondria form highly dynamic populations in the cells of plants (and all eukaryotes). The characteristics of this collective behaviour, and how it is influenced by nuclear features, remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we use a recently-developed quantitative approach to reveal and analyse the physical and collective "social" dynamics of mitochondria in an Arabidopsis msh1 mutant where organelle DNA maintenance machinery is compromised. We use a newly-created line combining the msh1 mutant with mitochondrially-targeted GFP, and characterise mitochondrial dynamics with a combination of single-cell timelapse microscopy, computational tracking and network analysis. The collective physical behaviour of msh1 mitochondria is altered from wildtype in several ways: mitochondria become less evenly spread, and networks of inter-mitochondrial encounters become more connected with greater potential efficiency for inter-organelle exchange. We find that these changes are similar to those observed in friendly, where mitochondrial dynamics are altered by a physical perturbation, suggesting that this shift to higher connectivity may reflect a general response to mitochondrial challenges.

Interleukin-6 versus Common Inflammatory Biomarkers for Diagnosing Fracture-Related Infection: Utility and Potential Influencing Factors

Currently, the utility of white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP), for diagnosis of fracture-related infection (FRI), is still controversial, and potential efficiency of interleukin-6 (IL-6) as a novel cytokine in assisted diagnosis of FRI remains unclear. This study is aimed at investigating the utility and potential influencing factors of IL-6 and the common biomarkers for diagnosing FRI. Preoperative serological levels of IL-6 and the three biomarkers were compared between 407 FRI patients and 195 fracture-healed (FH) patients. Diagnostic efficiency of the indicators was evaluated using the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and their potential influencing factors were also analyzed. Outcomes showed that the median levels of all of the four biomarkers were significantly higher among the FRI patients than those among the FH patients ( P < 0.01 ). The areas below the ROC curves of ESR, CRP, and IL-6 were 76.5%, 76.4%, and 71.8%, respectively, with WBC of only 56.9%. Compared with ESR and CRP, IL-6 displayed a lower sensitivity (ESR vs. CRP vs. IL − 6 = 72.7 % vs. 65.6% vs. 57.5%) but a higher specificity (ESR vs. CRP vs. IL − 6 = 70.3 % vs. 75.4% vs. 83.6%). Serological IL-6 level was influenced by pathogen culture result and pathogen number; nonetheless, bacteria type appeared to have no influence on the levels of the four biomarkers. In short, this study displayed similar value of IL-6 with that of ESR and CRP in assisted diagnosis of FRI. Whether IL-6 can be regarded as a promising diagnostic indicator requires more studies.