Enhanced dopamine D2 receptor function in hypothalamus and corpus striatum: their role in liver, plasma and in vitro hepatocyte ALDH regulation in ethahol treated rats

Dopamine D2 receptors are involved in ethanol self- administration behavior and also suggested to mediate the onset and offset of ethanol drinking. In the present study, we investigated dopamine (DA) content and Dopamine D2 (DA D2) receptors in the hypothalamus and corpus striatum of ethanol treated rats and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity in the liver and plasma of ethanol treated rats and in vitro hepatocyte cultures. Hypothalamic and corpus striatal DA content decreased significantly (P\0.05, P\0.001 respectively) and homovanillic acid/ dopamine (HVA/DA) ratio increased significantly (P\0.001) in ethanol treated rats when compared to control. Scatchard analysis of [3H] YM-09151-2 binding to DA D2 receptors in hypothalamus showed a significant increase (P\0.001) in Bmax without any change in Kd in ethanol treated rats compared to control. The Kd of DA D2 receptors significantly decreased (P\0.05) in the corpus striatum of ethanol treated rats when compared to control. DA D2 receptor affinity in the hypothalamus and corpus striatum of control and ethanol treated rats fitted to a single site model with unity as Hill slope value. The in vitro studies on hepatocyte cultures showed that 10-5 M and 10-7 M DA can reverse the increased ALDH activity in 10% ethanol treated cells to near control level. Sulpiride, an antagonist of DA D2, reversed the effect of dopamine on 10% ethanol induced ALDH activity in hepatocytes. Our results showed a decreased dopamine concentration with enhanced DA D2 receptors in the hypothalamus and corpus striatum of ethanol treated rats. Also, increased ALDH was observed in the plasma and liver of ethanol treated rats and in vitro hepatocyte cultures with 10% ethanol as a compensatory mechanism for increased aldehyde production due to increased dopamine metabolism. A decrease in dopamine concentration in major brain regions is coupled with an increase in ALDH activity in liver and plasma, which contributes to the tendency for alcoholism. Since the administration of 10-5 M and 10-7 M DA can reverse the increased ALDH activity in ethanol treated cells to near control level, this has therapeutic application to correct ethanol addicts from addiction due to allergic reaction observed in aldehyde accumulation.

Photothermal Investigations on Certain Plasma Polymerized Thin Films and Near IR Overtone Studies of Some Organic Molecules

Photothermal effect refers to heating of a sample due to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation. Photothermal (PT) heat generation which is an example of energy conversion has in general three kinds of applications. 1. PT material probing 2. PT material processing and 3. PT material destruction. The temperatures involved increases from 1-. 3. Of the above three, PT material probing is the most important in making significant contribution to the field of science and technology. Photothermal material characterization relies on high sensitivity detection techniques to monitor the effects caused by PT material heating of a sample. Photothermal method is a powerful high sensitivity non-contact tool used for non-destructive thermal characterization of materials. The high sensitivity of the photothermal methods has led to its application for analysis of low absorbance samples. Laser calorimetry, photothermal radiometry, pyroelectric technique, photoacoustic technique, photothermal beam deflection technique, etc. come under the broad class ofphotothermal techniques. However the choice of a suitable technique depends upon the nature of the sample, purpose of measurement, nature of light source used, etc. The present investigations are done on polymer thin films employing photothermal beam deflection technique, for the successful determination of their thermal diffusivity. Here the sample is excited by a He-Ne laser (A = 6328...\ ) which acts as the pump beam. Due to the refractive index gradient established in the sample surface and in the adjacent coupling medium, another optical beam called probe beam (diode laser, A= 6500A ) when passed through this region experiences a deflection and is detected using a position sensitive detector and its output is fed to a lock-in amplifier from which the amplitude and phase of the deflection can be directly obtained. The amplitude and phase of the signal is suitably analysed for determining the thermal diffusivity.The production of polymer thin film samples has gained considerable attention for the past few years. Plasma polymerization is an inexpensive tool for fabricating organic thin films. It refers to formation of polymeric materials under the influence of plasma, which is generated by some kind of electric discharge. Here plasma of the monomer vapour is generated by employing radio frequency (MHz) techniques. Plasma polymerization technique results in homogeneous, highly adhesive, thermally stable, pinhole free, dielectric, highly branched and cross-linked polymer films. The possible linkage in the formation of the polymers is suggested by comparing the FTIR spectra of the monomer and the polymer.Near IR overtone investigations on some organic molecules using local mode model are also done. Higher vibrational overtones often provide spectral simplification and greater resolution of peaks corresponding to nonequivalent X-H bonds where X is typically C, N or O. Vibrational overtone spectroscopy of molecules containing X-H oscillators is now a well established tool for molecular investigations. Conformational and steric differences between bonds and structural inequivalence ofCH bonds (methyl, aryl, acetylenic, etc.) are resolvable in the higher overtone spectra. The local mode model in which the X-H oscillators are considered to be loosely coupled anharmonic oscillators has been widely used for the interpretation of overtone spectra. If we are exciting a single local oscillator from the vibrational ground state to the vibrational state v, then the transition energy of the local mode overtone is given by .:lE a......v = A v + B v2 • A plot of .:lE / v versus v will yield A, the local mode frequency as the intercept and B, the local mode diagonal anharmonicity as the slope. Here A - B gives the mechanical frequency XI of the oscillator and B = X2 is the anharmonicity of the bond. The local mode parameters XI and X2 vary for non-equivalent X-H bonds and are sensitive to the inter and intra molecular environment of the X-H oscillator.

Dynamics of laser produced silver plasma under film deposition conditions studied using optical emission spectroscopy

Laser produced plasma from silver is generated using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. Optical emission spectroscopy is used to carry out time of flight (TOF) analysis of atomic particles. An anomalous double peak profile in the TOF distribution is observed at low pressure. A collection of slower species emerge at reduced pressure below 4 X lO-3 mbar and this species has a greater velocity spread. At high pressure the plasma expansion follows the shockwave model with cylindrical symmetry whereas at reduced pressure it shows unsteady adiabatic expansion (UAE). During UAE the species show a parabolic increases in the expansion time with radial distance whereas during shock wave expansion the exponent is less than one. The angular distribution of the ablated species in the plume is obtained from the measurement of optical density of thin films deposited on to glass substrates kept perpendicular to the plume. There is a sharp variation in the film thickness away from the film centre due to asymmetries in the plume.

Temporal and spatial evolution of C2 in laser induced plasma from graphite target

Laser ablation of graphite has been carried out using 1.06mm radiation from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and the time of flight distribution of molecular C2 present in the resultant plasma is investigated in terms of distance from the target as well as laser fluences employing time resolved spectroscopic technique. At low laser fluences the intensities of the emission lines from C2 exhibit only single peak structure while beyond a threshold laser fluence, emission from C2 shows a twin peak distribution in time. The occurrence of the faster velocity component at higher laser fluences is explained as due to species generated from recombination processes while the delayed peak is attributed to dissociation of higher carbon clusters resulting in the generation of C2 molecule. Analysis of measured data provides a fairly complete picture of the evolution and dynamics of C2 species in the laser induced plasma from graphite.

Characteristics of laser-induced plasma from highTc superconductor

The spectroscopic analysis of the emission from the plasma produced by irradiating a highT c superconducting GdBa2Cu3O7 target with a high power Nd:YAG laser beam shows the existence of the bands from different oxides in addition to the lines from neutrals and ions of the constituent elements. The spectral emissions by oxide species in laser-induced plasma show considerable time delays as compared to those from neutral and ionic species. Recombination processes taking place during the cooling of the hot plasma, rather than the plasma expansion velocities, have been found to be responsible for the observed time delays in this case. The decays of emission intensities from various species are found to be non-exponential.

Anomalous profile of a self-reversed resonance line from Ba+ in a laser produced plasma from YBa2Cu307

A laser produced plasma from the multielement solid target YBa2Cu3O7 is generated using 1.06 μm, 9 ns pulses from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser in air at atmospheric pressure. A time resolved analysis of the profile of the 4554.03 Å resonance line emission from Ba II at various laser power densities has been carried out. It has been found that the line has a profile which is strongly self-reversed. It is also observed that at laser power densities equal to or exceeding 1.6×1011 W cm−2, a third peak begins to develop at the centre of the self-reversed profile and this has been interpreted as due to the anisotropic resonance scattering (fluorescence). The number densities of singly ionized barium ions evaluated from the width of the resonance line as a function of time delay with respect to the beginning of the laser pulse give typical values of the order of 1019 cm−3. The higher ion concentrations existing at smaller time delays are seen to decrease rapidly. The Ba II ions in the ground state resonantly absorb the radiation and this absorption is maximum around 120 ns after the laser pulse.

“Reconstruction of Gene Regulatory Network from Expression Profile of Plasma RNA Data of Colorectal Cancer Patients using Soft Computing Techniques”

Microarray data analysis is one of data mining tool which is used to extract meaningful information hidden in biological data. One of the major focuses on microarray data analysis is the reconstruction of gene regulatory network that may be used to provide a broader understanding on the functioning of complex cellular systems. Since cancer is a genetic disease arising from the abnormal gene function, the identification of cancerous genes and the regulatory pathways they control will provide a better platform for understanding the tumor formation and development. The major focus of this thesis is to understand the regulation of genes responsible for the development of cancer, particularly colorectal cancer by analyzing the microarray expression data. In this thesis, four computational algorithms namely fuzzy logic algorithm, modified genetic algorithm, dynamic neural fuzzy network and Takagi Sugeno Kang-type recurrent neural fuzzy network are used to extract cancer specific gene regulatory network from plasma RNA dataset of colorectal cancer patients. Plasma RNA is highly attractive for cancer analysis since it requires a collection of small amount of blood and it can be obtained at any time in repetitive fashion allowing the analysis of disease progression and treatment response.

Modification and Analysis of Group-13-Nitride Semiconductor Surfaces: Influence of Adsorbates on Device Characteristics and Processing

Im Rahmen dieser interdisziplinären Doktorarbeit wird eine (Al)GaN Halbleiteroberflächenmodifikation untersucht, mit dem Ziel eine verbesserte Grenzfläche zwischen dem Material und dem Dielektrikum zu erzeugen. Aufgrund von Oberflächenzuständen zeigen GaN basierte HEMT Strukturen üblicherweise große Einsatzspannungsverschiebungen. Bisher wurden zur Grenzflächenmodifikation besonders die Entfernung von Verunreinigungen wie Sauerstoff oder Kohlenstoff analysiert. Die nasschemischen Oberflächenbehandlungen werden vor der Abscheidung des Dielektrikums durchgeführt, wobei die Kontaminationen jedoch nicht vollständig entfernt werden können. In dieser Arbeit werden Modifikationen der Oberfläche in wässrigen Lösungen, in Gasen sowie in Plasma analysiert. Detaillierte Untersuchungen zeigen, dass die inerte (0001) c-Ebene der Oberfläche kaum reagiert, sondern hauptsächlich die weniger polaren r- und m- Ebenen. Dies kann deutlich beim Defektätzen sowie bei der thermischen Oxidation beobachtet werden. Einen weiteren Ansatz zur Oberflächenmodifikation stellen Plasmabehandlungen dar. Hierbei wird die Oberflächenterminierung durch eine nukleophile Substitution mit Lewis Basen, wie Fluorid, Chlorid oder Oxid verändert, wodurch sich die Elektronegativitätsdifferenz zwischen dem Metall und dem Anion im Vergleich zur Metall-Stickstoff Bindung erhöht. Dies führt gleichzeitig zu einer Erhöhung der Potentialdifferenz des Schottky Kontakts. Sauerstoff oder Fluor besitzen die nötige thermische Stabilität um während einer Silicium-nitridabscheidung an der (Al)GaN Oberfläche zu bleiben. Sauerstoffvariationen an der Oberfläche werden in NH3 bei 700°C, welches die nötigen Bedingungen für die Abscheidung darstellen, immer zu etwa 6-8% reduziert – solche Grenzflächen zeigen deswegen auch keine veränderten Ergebnisse in Einsatzspannungsuntersuchungen. Im Gegensatz dazu zeigt die fluorierte Oberfläche ein völlig neues elektrisches Verhalten: ein neuer dominanter Oberflächendonator mit einem schnellen Trapping und Detrapping Verhalten wird gefunden. Das Energieniveau dieses neuen, stabilen Donators liegt um ca. 0,5 eV tiefer in der Bandlücke als die ursprünglichen Energieniveaus der Oberflächenzustände. Physikalisch-chemische Oberflächen- und Grenzflächenuntersuchung mit XPS, AES oder SIMS erlauben keine eindeutige Schlussfolgerung, ob das Fluor nach der Si3N4 Abscheidung tatsächlich noch an der Grenzfläche vorhanden ist, oder einfach eine stabilere Oberflächenrekonstruktion induziert wurde, bei welcher es selbst nicht beteiligt ist. In beiden Fällen ist der neue Donator in einer Konzentration von 4x1013 at/cm-2 vorhanden. Diese Dichte entspricht einer Oberflächenkonzentration von etwa 1%, was genau an der Nachweisgrenze der spektroskopischen Methoden liegt. Jedoch werden die elektrischen Oberflächeneigenschaften durch die Oberflächenmodifikation deutlich verändert und ermöglichen eine potentiell weiter optimierbare Grenzfläche.

Compositional data analysis in archaeometry

We shall call an n × p data matrix fully-compositional if the rows sum to a constant, and sub-compositional if the variables are a subset of a fully-compositional data set1. Such data occur widely in archaeometry, where it is common to determine the chemical composition of ceramic, glass, metal or other artefacts using techniques such as neutron activation analysis (NAA), inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICPS), X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) etc. Interest often centres on whether there are distinct chemical groups within the data and whether, for example, these can be associated with different origins or manufacturing technologies

Elemental analysis of New Zealand Nephrite Jade (pounamu) for forensic purposes

Pounamu (NZ jade), or nephrite, is a protected mineral in its natural form following the transfer of ownership back to Ngai Tahu under the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997. Any theft of nephrite is prosecutable under the Crimes Act 1961. Scientific evidence is essential in cases where origin is disputed. A robust method for discrimination of this material through the use of elemental analysis and compositional data analysis is required. Initial studies have characterised the variability within a given nephrite source. This has included investigation of both in situ outcrops and alluvial material. Methods for the discrimination of two geographically close nephrite sources are being developed. Key Words: forensic, jade, nephrite, laser ablation, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, multivariate analysis, elemental analysis, compositional data analysis

Eficacia del plasma rico en plaquetas en procedimientos médicos estéticos faciales . Evaluación en contorno de ojos.

Introducción: En la actualidad se están implementando nuevas técnicas, para el tratamiento de líneas de expresión facial. El Plasma Rico en Plaquetas (PRP) utiliza factores de crecimiento humano autólogos con fines médicos estéticos. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el tratamiento con plasma rico en plaquetas en el manejo del rejuvenecimiento periocular. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo retrospectivo en una cohorte de 27 pacientes entre 30 a 70 años de ambos sexos,tratados con PRP sin tratamientos médicos estéticos previos . Se compararon fotografías del sistema VISIA®, previo y posterior el PRP, para determinar los cambios del área periocular. Con análisis comparativo de medias utilizando pruebas t de student. Resultados: De 27 historias clínicas revisadas 96,3% eran mujeres, la edad promedio fue de 52.67 años. Se observaron cambios clínicos satisfactorios en el manejo del foto envejecimiento periocular con mejoría estadísticamente significativa entre el promedio inicial y el post tratamiento en arrugas, textura y porfirinas (p: 0.000). No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos de edad (p = 0,62). Los pacientes analizados posterior al tratamiento se encuentran en mejor estado que el 63,78% de la población de su mismo sexo, edad y fototipo de piel. Los eventos adversos fueron disminuyendo en su frecuencia en cada una de las sesiones siguientes. Discusión: El PRP proporciona una mejoría global en los parámetros de envejecimiento periocular lo cual se correlaciono con los estudios previos in vitro. Conclusiones: El PRP es seguro y eficaz en contorno de ojos.

Plasmapheresis vs. immunoglobulin in autoimmune neurologic diseases: a meta-analysis

Objectives: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of human immunoglobulin versus plasmapheresis in the management of autoimmune neurologic diseases. Likewise, length of hospital stay and duration of ventilator support were compared. Methods: Randomized controlled trials and analytical observational studies of more than 10 cases, were reviewed. Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, HINARI Ovid, the Database of abstracts of reviews of effectiveness and the Economic evaluation Database were searched as data source. Reference lists were examined for further relevant articles. A random-effect model was used to derive a pooled risk ratio. Results: 725 articles were found and 27 met the criteria for a population studied of 4717 cases: 14 articles were about Guillain Barré syndrome, 10 of Myasthenia Gravis, one of Sydenham Chorea, one of Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and one of PANDAS. No evidence was found in favor of any of the two treatments as regards effectiveness (OR 0.94, IC 0.63 – 1.41, p= 0.77) or ventilator support time; IGIV had a significant better safety profile than plasmapheresis (OR 0.70, IC 0.51 – 0.96, p= 0.03) and patients needed less time of hospital stay (p=0.03). Conclusions: There is no evidence for superiority in the effectiveness of immunoglobulin or plasmapheresis in the management of autoimmune neurologic diseases. Nevertheless, patients treated with immunoglobulin have statistically significant less adverse effects, a shorter hospital stay and a tendency of less ventilator support time. These premises could lead to fewer costs for health services but an economic study should be done.

Corticosterone plasma concentrations in Carioca High- and Low-Conditioned freezing rats after a fear conditioned task

Our group in the Psychology Department at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) developed a rat genetic model of extreme freezing in response to contextual cues in an experimental chamber previously associated with footshock. One of the lines, Carioca High Freezing (CHF), exhibits an enhanced conditioned freezing response, whereas the other line, Carioca Low Freezing (CLF), shows the opposite response. The present study investigated corticosterone concentration between these two lines of animals and a random (RND) line of rats both under basal conditions and test condition after an emotional challenge using a contextual fear conditioning protocol. Comparisons between basal and test plasma corticosterone concentrations suggested differential basal and fear-induced differences between the two lines. The differences between basal conditions is an important and relevant aspect to be considered in behavioral experiments using or assessing stress and could help to understand variability in naïve populations.

Polimorfismos del gen Butirilcolinesterasa responsables de reacciones adversas en pacientes consumidores de “cocaína”

La butirilcolinesterasa humana (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) es una enzima polimórfica sintetizada en el hígado y en el tejido adiposo, ampliamente distribuida en el organismo y encargada de hidrolizar algunos ésteres de colina como la procaína, ésteres alifáticos como el ácido acetilsalicílico, fármacos como la metilprednisolona, el mivacurium y la succinilcolina y drogas de uso y/o abuso como la heroína y la cocaína. Es codificada por el gen BCHE (OMIM 177400), habiéndose identificado más de 100 variantes, algunas no estudiadas plenamente, además de la forma más frecuente, llamada usual o silvestre. Diferentes polimorfismos del gen BCHE se han relacionado con la síntesis de enzimas con niveles variados de actividad catalítica. Las bases moleculares de algunas de esas variantes genéticas han sido reportadas, entre las que se encuentra las variantes Atípica (A), fluoruro-resistente del tipo 1 y 2 (F-1 y F-2), silente (S), Kalow (K), James (J) y Hammersmith (H). En este estudio, en un grupo de pacientes se aplicó el instrumento validado Lifetime Severity Index for Cocaine Use Disorder (LSI-C) para evaluar la gravedad del consumo de “cocaína” a lo largo de la vida. Además, se determinaron Polimorfismos de Nucleótido Simple (SNPs) en el gen BCHE conocidos como responsables de reacciones adversas en pacientes consumidores de “cocaína” mediante secuenciación del gen y se predijo el efecto delos SNPs sobre la función y la estructura de la proteína, mediante el uso de herramientas bio-informáticas. El instrumento LSI-C ofreció resultados en cuatro dimensiones: consumo a lo largo de la vida, consumo reciente, dependencia psicológica e intento de abandono del consumo. Los estudios de análisis molecular permitieron observar dos SNPs codificantes (cSNPs) no sinónimos en el 27.3% de la muestra, c.293A>G (p.Asp98Gly) y c.1699G>A (p.Ala567Thr), localizados en los exones 2 y 4, que corresponden, desde el punto de vista funcional, a la variante Atípica (A) [dbSNP: rs1799807] y a la variante Kalow (K) [dbSNP: rs1803274] de la enzima BChE, respectivamente. Los estudios de predicción In silico establecieron para el SNP p.Asp98Gly un carácter patogénico, mientras que para el SNP p.Ala567Thr, mostraron un comportamiento neutro. El análisis de los resultados permite proponer la existencia de una relación entre polimorfismos o variantes genéticas responsables de una baja actividad catalítica y/o baja concentración plasmática de la enzima BChE y algunas de las reacciones adversas ocurridas en pacientes consumidores de cocaína.

Blackbody emission under laser excitation of silicon nanopowder produced by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition

Previous results concerning radiative emission under laser irradiation of silicon nanopowder are reinterpreted in terms of thermal emission. A model is developed that considers the particles in the powder as independent, so under vacuum the only dissipation mechanism is thermal radiation. The supralinear dependence observed between the intensity of the emitted radiation and laser power is predicted by the model, as is the exponential quenching when the gas pressure around the sample increases. The analysis allows us to determine the sample temperature. The local heating of the sample has been assessed independently by the position of the transverse optical Raman mode. Finally, it is suggested that the photoluminescence observed in porous silicon and similar materials could, in some cases, be blackbody radiation