This study determined the effects of palm vitamin E (TRF) diet on the levels of blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin (gHb), serum advanced glycosylation end-products (AGE) and malondialdehyde (MDA) of diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats received either control (normal rat chow), TRF diet (normal chow fortified with TRF at 1 g/kg) or Vitamin C diet (vitamin E-deficient but contained vitamin C at 45 g/kg). The animals were maintained on the respective diet for 4 weeks, made diabetic with streptozotocin (STZ), then followed-up for a further 8 weeks. At week-4, mean serum AGE levels of rats given TRF diet (0.7 +/- 0.3 units/ml) were significantly lower than those of control or Vitamin C diet rats (p pounds 0.03). The levels increased after STZ and became comparable to the other groups. At week 12, blood glucose (20.9 +/- 6.9 mM) and gHb (10.0 +/- 1.6%) of rats on TRF diet remained significantly low compared to that of control or Vitamin C diet rats (p pounds 0.03). MDA however, was not affected and remained comparable between groups throughout the study. This study showed that TRF may be a useful antioxidant; effectively prevented increase in AGE in normal rats, and caused decrease in blood glucose and gHb in diabetic rats. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of action of TRF.
Rattus norvegicus ; Diet ; Protirelin ; control ; Streptozocin

A simple and sensitive double-antibody radioimmunoassay for human growth hormone (HGH) was developed, optimised and validated. The anti-hGH sera raised in 2 rabbits were highly specific with low cross-reactions of 0.19% and 0.3% with human placental lactogen and 0.21% and 0.13% with human prolactin. The mean sensitivity of the assay determined from 28 assays was found to be 0.4 +/- 0.2 mIU/L. Mean recovery of added exogenous hGH was 98.8 +/- 6.8%. Linearity studies of samples diluted at 1:2, 1:4 and 1:8 gave values of 101.3 +/- 5.3%, 109.6 +/- 13.4% and 97.3 +/- 13% respectively of those expected. The reproducibility of the assay was good; within assay coefficient of variation for serum samples with GH concentrations of 2.7, 13.6 and 28.2 mU/l ranged from 5.1 to 8.3% while the inter-assay precision varied from 4.9 to 10.3%. The in-house assay showed good correlation (r = 0.96, p less than 0.001) with a commercial HGH RIA kit (Dainabot, Japan). A reference normal adult fasting GH level of less than 7 mIU/l was established from 95 samples assayed by this method.
Somatropin ; assay ; Radioimmunoassay ; L ; Growth hormone measurement

A patient with beta hCG-secreting germ cell carcinoma of the pineal and suprasellar regions presented with hydrocephalus, Parinaud's syndrome, hypopituitarism and polyuria. Central diabetes insipidus was strongly suspected although the water deprivation test was not diagnostic. The polyuria however, responded to ADH analogue when the hypothyroidism and hypocortisolism were treated. Pubertal development was evident and serum testosterone was normal despite the low FSH/LH, suggesting hCG stimulation of Leydig cells. This case illustrates that a beta hCG-germ cell tumour of the suprasellar region causing hypopituitarism can mask the presence of central diabetes insipidus and hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism.
Germ Cells ; Hypogonadism ; Diabetes Insipidus ; MASKED ; Polyuria

Hydroxyapatite is a calcium phosphate bioceramic that has been shown by many authors to be biocompatible with bioactive properties. It is widely accepted as the best synthetic material available for surgical use as a bone graft substitute. HA granules produced by AMREC-SIRIM from local materials underwent 5 types of sterilisation techniques with different ageing periods. Samples were tested for chemical and phase composition and microbial contamination before and after being sterilised. From the microbiological tests done, none of the unsterilised positive control yielded a positive culture. Results from X-Ray diffraction studies found that all the sterilisation techniques did not chemically degrade or structurally change the HA granules significantly.
Bacteriological Techniques ; Bone Substitutes/*analysis ; Calcium Phosphates/*analysis ; Materials Testing/*methods ; Sterilization/*methods ; X-Ray Diffraction

BACKGROUND: The Koebner phenomenon (KP) is a common entity observed in dermatological disorders. The reported incidence of KP in vitiligo varies widely. Although the KP is frequently observed in patients with viltiligo, the associated factors with KP has not been established yet. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to estimate the prevalence of KP in vitiligo patients and to investigate the associated factors with KP among vitiligo characteristics. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using 381 vitiligo patients. Demographic and clinical information was obtained via the completion of Vitiligo European Task Force (VETF) questionnaires. Patients with positive history of KP were extracted from this vitiligo database. Multivariate analysis was performed to assess associations with KP. RESULTS: The median age of cases was 24 years (range, 0.6~76). In total, 237 of the patients were male (62.2%). Vitiligo vulgaris was the most common type observed (152/381, 39.9%). Seventy-two percent (274/381) patients did not exhibit KP, whereas 28.1% (107/381) of patients exhibited this condition. Multivariable analysis showed the following to be independent factors with KP in patients with vitiligo: the progressive disease (odds ratio [OR], 1.82; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.17~2.92; p=0.041), disease duration longer than 5 years (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.22~2.11; p=0.003), and body surface area more than 2% (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.26~3.24; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that KP may be used to evaluate disease activity and investigate different associations between the clinical profile and course of vitiligo. Further studies are needed to predict the relationship between KP and responsiveness to therapy.
Advisory Committees ; Body Surface Area ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis* ; Observational Study* ; Prevalence ; Vitiligo*

PURPOSE: Porcelain fused to metal (PFM) crowns provide the best treatment option for teeth that have a large or defective restoration. More than 20% of teeth with PFM crowns or bridges require non-surgical root canal treatment (NSRCT). This may be due to the effect of restorative procedures and the possible leakage of bacteria and or their by-products, which leads to the demise of the tooth pulp. Thus, this study was planned to compare the ability of the restorative materials to seal perforated PFM specimens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study evaluates the ability of amalgam, composite or compomer restorative materials to close perforated PFM specimen's in-vitro. Ninety PFM specimens were constructed using Ni-Cr alloys and feldspathic porcelain, and then they were divided into 3 groups: amalgam (A), composite + Exite adhesive bond (B) and compomer + Syntac adhesive bond (C). All the PFM samples were embedded in an acrylic block to provide complete sealing of the hole from the bottom side. After the aging period, each group was further divided into 3 equal subgroups according to the thermocycling period (one week for 70 cycles, one month for 300 cycles and three months for 900 cycles). Each subgroup was put into containers containing dye (Pelikan INK), one maintained at 5degrees C and the other at 55degrees C, each cycle for 30 sec time. The data obtained was analyzed by SPSS, 2006 using one way ANOVA test and student t-test and significant difference level at (P<.01). RESULTS: The depth of dye penetration was measured at the interfaces of PFM and filling materials using Co-ordinate Vernier Microscope. The lowest levels of the dye penetration for the three groups, as well as subgroups were during the first week. The values of dye leakage had significantly increased by time intervals in subgroups A and C. CONCLUSION: It was seen that amalgam showed higher leakage than composite while compomer showed the lowest level of leakage.
Adhesives ; Aging ; Alloys ; Bacteria ; Crowns ; Dental Porcelain ; Dental Pulp Cavity ; Humans ; Tooth

Ascaris is a helminthic parasite, which infects a wide range of host species causing ascariasis, a predominant disease worldwide. This parasite causes significant economic losses to the pig industry. The current study was designed to determine the Ascaris nematode by the genetic characterization of three mitochondrial (mt) genes namely NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1), cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) and cytochrome oxidase subunit 2 (cox2). A high infection rate of Ascaris nematode has been found in Tibetan pigs at the slaughter houses in Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The nad1, cox1 and cox2 genes sequences collected from adult Ascaris individuals were amplified by polymerase chain reaction. The cloned-amplicons and the positive products were sequenced and phylogenetic analysis was performed. The results indicated that the Ascaris infecting the Tibetan pigs were Ascaris suum (A. suum). This is the first report on the isolation, identification and genetic characterization of three mitochondrial genomes (nad1, cox1, and cox2) of A. suum originated from Tibetan pigs at high altitudes in Tibet.

The main objective of this research is to compare the seating pressure during the driving session between two different types of national cars. The objective of this research is to conduct object pressure distribution study on two different types of car seat using CONFORMat (model 5330) with system model CER2, compare and analyse the results based on object pressure between both car seat. Twelve respondents participated a driving session with TekscanCONFORMat (model 5330) setup using the same route for both national car. We select two types of national cars equipped with automatic transmission for this research. The seat pressure on the subject along the journey is recorded using TekscanCONFORMat Research 7.60 software. Later, comparison made with respect to the seat pressure experiencedby twelve respondents. The results shows different values of backand seat pressure recorded among the twelve subjects. Lastly, the results are analysedand discussed at the end of this paper. Model B seat design has better ability to distribute evenly the pressure to both seat and back. However, results for Model A showed the pressure is more concentrated on the seat area.
TeckscanCONFORMat ; Seating pressure ; Ergonomic

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The safety of the human body is maintained by effective monitoring of the mucosal surface integrity and protection against potentially harmful compounds. This function of the gut called intestinal barrier function can be affected by cholestasis and the absence of bile in the intestinal lumen. We aimed to determine whether the gut barrier integrity is impaired in infants with cholestasis by evaluation of the intestinal fatty acid binding proteins (I-FABP) and ileal bile acid binding protein (I-BABP) as markers of intestinal epithelial cell damage and plasma D-lactate level as a marker of gut wall permeability. METHODS: This case-control study included 53 infants with cholestasis and 29 controls. Serum levels of I-FABP, I-BABP, and D-lactate were measured in all subjects. RESULTS: Both groups of patients with neonatal hepatitis and biliary atresia showed significantly higher levels of I-FABP and I-BABP than the controls. There were no differences in the serum D-lactate level between the cases and controls. There was no difference between the two groups of patients (I and II) regarding any of the parameters studied. No significant correlations between serum levels of I-FABP, I-BABP, or D-lactate and total or direct bilirubin levels were found in the cholestatic infants. CONCLUSIONS: The intestinal epithelial barrier integrity is breached nearly in all parts of the intestine in infants with cholestasis. Further research is recommended to determine the impact of this finding on the management of these infants. The relationship between physical intestinal barrier damage and its functional failure remains subject for further research.
Bile ; Biliary Atresia ; Bilirubin ; Carrier Proteins ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholestasis* ; Epithelial Cells ; Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins ; Hepatitis ; Human Body ; Humans ; Infant* ; Intestines ; Permeability ; Plasma

No abstract available.