Effect of the injection of an extract of Ascaris suum on macrophage activation during the early phase of Mycobacterium bovis BCG infection in C57Bl/6 mice

Injection of an Ascaris suum extract (Asc) affects both the humoral and cellular immune responses to unrelated antigens when it is co-administered with these antigens. In the present study we evaluated the effect of Asc on macrophage activation in the early phase of Mycobacterium bovis BCG (Pasteur strain TMCC 1173) infection in C57Bl/6 mice. C57Bl/6 mice were injected intraperitoneally (ip) with 0.1 mg BCG (BCG group) or BCG plus 1 mg Asc (BCG + Asc group). The peritoneal exudates were obtained at 2, 7 and 14 days after infection. The numbers of IFN-g-secreting cells were assessed by the ELISPOT assay. Nitric oxide (NO) production was measured by the Griess method and by the evaluation of NADPH diaphorase activity in the peritoneal exudates. The administration of Asc extract increased NADPH diaphorase activity (2 days: control = 0, BCG = 7%, BCG + Asc = 13%, and Asc = 4%; 7 days: control = 4, BCG = 13%, BCG + Asc = 21%, and Asc = 4.5%) and TNF-a levels (mean ± SD; 2 days: control = 0, BCG = 169 ± 13, BCG + Asc = 202 ± 37, and Asc = 0; 7 days: control = 0, BCG = 545 ± 15.5, BCG + Asc = 2206 ± 160.6, and Asc = 126 ± 26; 14 days: control = 10 ± 1.45, BCG = 9 ± 1.15, BCG + Asc = 126 ± 18, and Asc = 880 ± 47.67 pg/ml) in the early phase of BCG infection. Low levels of NO production were detected at 2 and 7 days after BCG infection, increasing at 14 days (mean ± SD; 2 days: control = 0, BCG = 3.7 ± 1.59, BCG + Asc = 0.82 ± 0.005, Asc = 0.48 ± 0.33; 7 days: control = 0, BCG = 2.78 ± 1.54, BCG + Asc = 3.07 ± 1.05, Asc = 0; 14 days: control = 0, BCG = 9.05 ± 0.53, BCG + Asc = 9.61 ± 0.81, Asc = 10.5 ± 0.2 (2 x 106) cells/ml). Furthermore, we also observed that Asc co-injection induced a decrease of BCG-colony-forming units (CFU) in the spleens of BCG-infected mice during the first week of infection (mean ± SD; 2 days: BCG = 1.13 ± 0.07 and BCG + Asc = 0.798 ± 0.305; 7 days: BCG = 1.375 ± 0.194 and BCG + Asc = 0.548 ± 0.0226; 14 days: BCG = 0.473 ± 0.184 and BCG + Asc = 0.675 ± 0.065 (x 102) CFU). The present data suggest that Asc induces the enhancement of the immune response in the early phase of BCG infection.

Development of an operational substrate for ZapA, a metalloprotease secreted by the bacterium Proteus mirabilis

The protease ZapA, secreted by Proteus mirabilis, has been considered to be a virulence factor of this opportunistic bacterium. The control of its expression requires the use of an appropriate methodology, which until now has not been developed. The present study focused on the replacement of azocasein with fluorogenic substrates, and on the definition of enzyme specificity. Eight fluorogenic substrates were tested, and the peptide Abz-Ala-Phe-Arg-Ser-Ala-Ala-Gln-EDDnp was found to be the most convenient for use as an operational substrate for ZapA. A single peptide bond (Arg-Ser) was cleaved with a Km of 4.6 µM, a k cat of 1.73 s-1, and a catalytic efficiency of 376 (mM s)-1. Another good substrate for ZapA was peptide 6 (Abz-Arg-Pro-Pro-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe-Arg-Gln-EDDnp) which was cleaved at a single bond (Phe-Ser) with a Km of 13.6 µM, a k cat of 3.96 s-1 and a catalytic efficiency of 291 (mM s)-1. The properties of the amino acids flanking the scissile bonds were also evaluated, and no clear requirement for the amino acid residue at P1 was found, although the enzyme seems to have a preference for a hydrophobic residue at P2.

Development of an HTR-10 model in the Serpent reactor physics code

The use of exact coordinates of pebbles and fuel particles of pebble bed reactor modelling becoming possible in Monte Carlo reactor physics calculations is an important development step. This allows exact modelling of pebble bed reactors with realistic pebble beds without the placing of pebbles in regular lattices. In this study the multiplication coefficient of the HTR-10 pebble bed reactor is calculated with the Serpent reactor physics code and, using this multiplication coefficient, the amount of pebbles required for the critical load of the reactor. The multiplication coefficient is calculated using pebble beds produced with the discrete element method and three different material libraries in order to compare the results. The received results are lower than those from measured at the experimental reactor and somewhat lower than those gained with other codes in earlier studies.

Acute and chronic effects of cadmium on blood homeostasis of an estuarine crab, Chasmagnathus granulata, and the modifying effect of salinity

Whole body oxygen consumption and some hemolymph parameters such as pH, partial pressure of gases, level of ions and lactate were measured in the estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulata after both acute (96 h) and chronic (2 weeks) exposure to cadmium at concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 6.3 mg/l. In all instances, the crabs developed hemolymph acidosis, but no respiratory (increased PCO2) or lactate increases were evident. Hemolymph levels of sodium and calcium were always increased by cadmium exposure. The chronic toxicity of cadmium was enhanced at 12‰ salinity, even causing a significantly higher mortality in comparison with the higher salinity (30‰) used. A general metabolic arrest took place at 12‰ salinity in the crabs chronically exposed to cadmium, as indicated by decreases of oxygen consumption and PCO2, an increase of PO2, along with no changes in lactate levels. These imbalances were associated with severe necrosis and telangiectasia in the respiratory gills, probably leading to respiratory impairment and finally histotoxic hypoxia and death of the animals.

Between Memory and Strategy: Media Discourse Analysis of an Industrial Shutdown

In 2006 UPM was able to gain a level of social legitimacy that allowed it to carry out one of the largest industrial restructuring programmes in Finnish industrial history, shut down major operations in Finland and still appear to be functioning in the interests of the nation as well as itself. This study considers and examines various contexts of this shutdown with the aim of demonstrating how profoundly mediated such organizational events are though they appear to be produced primarily through strategic company decisions. The study aims to examine the processes of mediation at two levels. At one level, through close analysis of press releases and newspaper reports in local and national newspapers, the study presents a discursive analysis of the Voikkaa case. The discursive analysis focuses on providing historical contexts for understanding why this organizational event was also an occasion for reimagining the past and future of the Finnish nation; spatial contexts for understanding the differing struggles over the meaning of the event nationally and regionally; and the temporal dynamics of the media reports. At another level, the study considers and refines methods for reading and analyzing mediation in organization studies. Bringing together recent research of media text–based legitimation studies, emerging research on organizational memory and organizational death and a Foucaultian analytics of power, this work suggests that organizational research needs to be less concerned with particular typologies and narratives of shutdowns, and more curious about the processes of mediation through which organizational events are imagined and remembered.

Standardization of an isolated pig heart preparation with parabiotic circulation: methodological considerations

In the present study we standardized an experimental model of parabiotic circulation of isolated pig heart. The isolated heart was perfused with arterial blood from a second animal as support and submitted to regional ischemia for 30 min, followed by total ischemia for 90 min and reperfusion for 90 min. Parameters for measurement of ventricular performance using different indices measured directly or indirectly from intraventricular pressure were defined as: maximum peak pressure, final diastolic pressure, pressure developed, first derivative of maximum pressure (dP/dt max), first derivative of minimum pressure (dP/dt min), systolic stress of the left ventricle (sigmas), and maximum elastance of the left ventricle. Isolated hearts subjected to regional and global ischemia presented significant worsening of all measured parameters. Less discriminative parameters were dP/dt max and dP/dt min. Elastance was the most sensitive parameter during the reperfusion period, demonstrating an early loss of ventricular function during reperfusion. The model proved to be stable and reproducible and permitted the study of several variables in the isolated heart, such as ischemia and reperfusion phenomena, the effects of different drugs, surgical interventions, etc. The model introduces an advantage over the classical models which use crystalloid solutions as perfusate, because parabiotic circulation mimics heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation.

Effect of an aqueous extract of Phaseolus vulgaris on the properties of tail tendon collagen of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

Changes in the structural and functional properties of collagen caused by advanced glycation might be of importance for the etiology of late complications in diabetes. The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of oral administration of aqueous pod extract (200 mg/kg body weight) of Phaseolus vulgaris, an indigenous plant used in Ayurvedic Medicine in India, on collagen content and characteristics in the tail tendon of streptozotocin-diabetic rats. In diabetic rats, collagen content (117.01 ± 6.84 mg/100 mg tissue) as well as its degree of cross-linking was increased, as shown by increased extent of glycation (21.70 ± 0.90 µg glucose/mg collagen), collagen-linked fluorescence (52.8 ± 3.0 AU/µmol hydroxyproline), shrinkage temperature (71.50 ± 2.50ºC) and decreased acid (1.878 ± 0.062 mg hydroxyproline/100 mg tissue) and pepsin solubility (1.77 ± 0.080 mg hydroxyproline/100 mg tissue). The alpha/ß ratio of acid- (1.69) and pepsin-soluble (2.00) collagen was significantly decreased in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. Administration of P. vulgaris for 45 days to streptozotocin-diabetic rats significantly reduced the accumulation and cross-linking of collagen. The effect of P. vulgaris was compared with that of glibenclamide, a reference drug administered to streptozotocin-diabetic rats at the dose of 600 µg/kg body weight for 45 days by gavage. The effects of P. vulgaris (collagen content, 64.18 ± 1.97; extent of glycation, 12.00 ± 0.53; collagen-linked fluorescence, 33.6 ± 1.9; shrinkage temperature, 57.0 ± 1.0; extent of cross-linking - acid-soluble collagen, 2.572 ± 0.080, and pepsin-soluble collagen, 2.28 ± 0.112) were comparable with those of glibenclamide (collagen content, 71.5 ± 2.04; extent of glycation, 13.00 ± 0.60; collagen-linked fluorescence, 38.9 ± 2.0; shrinkage temperature, 59.0 ± 1.5; extent of cross-linking - acid-soluble collagen, 2.463 ± 0.078, and pepsin-soluble collagen, 2.17 ± 0.104). In conclusion, administration of P. vulgaris pods had a positive influence on the content of collagen and its properties in streptozotocin-diabetic rats.

Design, implementation, and evaluation of an online water quality monitoring system in Lake Saimaa, Finland

Environmental threats are growing nowadays, they became global issues. People around the world try to face these issues by two means: solving the current affected environs and preventing non-affected environs. This thesis describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of online water quality monitoring system in Lake Saimaa, Finland. The water quality in Lake Saimaa needs to be monitored in order to provide responsible bodies with valuable information which allows them to act fast in order to prevent any negative impact on the lake's environment. The objectives were to design a suitable system, implement the system in Lake Saimaa, and then to evaluate the applicability and reliability of such systems for this environment. The needs for the system were first isolated, and then the design, needed modifications, and the construction of the system took place. After that was the testing of the system in Lake Saimaa in two locations nearby Mikkeli city. The last step was to evaluate the whole system. The main results were that the application of online water quality monitoring systems in Lake Saimaa can benefit of many advantages such as reducing the required manpower, time and running costs. However, the point of unreliability of the exact measured values of some parameters is still the drawback of such systems which can be developed by using more advanced equipments with more sophisticated features specifically for the purpose of monitoring in the predefined location.

Effect of an aqueous extract of Scoparia dulcis on blood glucose, plasma insulin and some polyol pathway enzymes in experimental rat diabetes

The effects of an aqueous extract of the plant Scoparia dulcis (200 mg/kg) on the polyol pathway and lipid peroxidation were examined in the liver of streptozotocin adult diabetic male albino Wistar rats. The diabetic control rats (N = 6) presented a significant increase in blood glucose, sorbitol dehydrogenase, glycosylated hemoglobin and lipid peroxidation markers such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and hydroperoxides, and a significant decrease in plasma insulin and antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and reduced glutathione (GSH) compared to normal rats (N = 6). Scoparia dulcis plant extract (SPEt, 200 mg kg-1 day-1) and glibenclamide (600 µg kg-1 day-1), a reference drug, were administered by gavage for 6 weeks to diabetic rats (N = 6 for each group) and significantly reduced blood glucose, sorbitol dehydrogenase, glycosylated hemoglobin, TBARS, and hydroperoxides, and significantly increased plasma insulin, GPx, GST and GSH activities in liver. The effect of the SPEt was compared with that of glibenclamide. The effect of the extract may have been due to the decreased influx of glucose into the polyol pathway leading to increased activities of antioxidant enzymes and plasma insulin and decreased activity of sorbitol dehydrogenase. These results indicate that the SPEt was effective in attenuating hyperglycemia in rats and their susceptibility to oxygen free radicals.