Bisphenol A accelerates the vascular complications in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus through vascular calcification-a molecular approach

PURPOSE

Environmental pollutant Bisphenol A (BPA) strongly interacts with insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Uncontrolled glucose levels in both blood and urine develops vascular complications in T2DM patients. However, glucose-controlled diabetic patients are also affected by vascular complications due to vascular calcification, and there is a lack of clinically relevant data on BPA levels available in patients with T2DM-associated vascular complications due to vascular calcification. Therefore, we measured BPA levels in T2DM-associated vascular complications and correlated systemic BPA levels with vascular calcification-related gene expression.

METHODS

This study included 120 participants with T2DM and its associated vascular complications. Serum and urinary BPA were estimated using an ELISA kit, and gene expression of the study participants in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was studied with quantitative real-time PCR.

RESULTS

Serum and urinary BPA levels were higher in T2DM and its associated vascular complications with CVD and DN patients compared to control. Both Serum and urinary BPA had higher significance with Sirt1 (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), Runx2 (p < 0.01, p < 0.001) and IL-1beta (p < 0.001, p < 0.02) gene expression in the study groups, but, TNF-alpha significant with Serum BPA (p < 0.04), not urinary BPA (p < 0.31).

CONCLUSION

BPA levels were positively correlated with lower Sirt1 and increased Runx2 in T2DM-associated vascular complications patients. Also, higher expression of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha was observed in T2DM-associated vascular complications patients. Our study is the first to associate BPA levels with vascular calcification in patients with T2DM and its associated vascular complications.

Hygiene practices during clinical training: knowledge, attitudes and practice among a cohort of South Asian Medical students

BACKGROUND

Proper hygienic practices are important in preventing nosocomial infection. This study aimed to determine knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on hand, attire and equipment hygiene during clinical training among medical students at a State Medical Institution in Sri Lanka.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 3rd, 4th and final (5th) year medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, who had undergone at least 6 months of clinical training. KAP on hand hygiene (HH), attire hygiene (AH) and equipment hygiene (EH) were assessed using a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire with a Likert-type scale. KAP scores were graded as follows: good ≥75; moderate:74.9-50; unsatisfactory:49.9-25; poor:< 25%. KAP based on duration of training and gender were compared using independent samples t-tests.

RESULTS

Three hundred thirty-three students participated (mean age 24 ± 1.1 years, male: female = 1: 1.2). Combined KAP scores on hand and attire hygiene were moderate (HH:73%, AH:65%) while equipment hygiene was unsatisfactory (EH:47%). Senior students (5th year) had higher combined KAP and knowledge (K) on hand hygiene (HH KAP 75% vs. 72%, p = 0.01; K:72% vs. 67%, p = 0.001) and equipment hygiene (EH KAP 50% vs. 44%, p = 0.001; K:47% vs. 35%, p = 0.001) compared to junior students (3rd/ 4th years). However, they had lower KAP and P scores on attire hygiene (AH KAP 63% vs. 67%, p = 0.006; P:60% vs. 67%, p = 0.004). Female students had better AH compared to male students (KAP:67% vs. 64% p = 0.01; K 71% vs. 66%, p = 0.048; P:66% vs. 62%, p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, hand hygiene was moderate among medical students and improved with progression of training. Attire hygiene was also graded as moderate but to a lesser extent compared to hand hygiene, lower in males, and declined over time, indicating need for better reinforcement of attire hygiene practices with progression of clinical training. Equipment hygiene was unsatisfactory among most medical students and thus needs to be highlighted as a potential area to be improved during clinical training. This study suggests that knowledge, attitudes and practices on equipment and attire hygiene among medical students was less satisfactory and needs to receive greater emphasis during medical clinical training.

Calorimetric and Spectroscopic Studies to Monitor the Interaction of L-Cysteine Functionalized Selenium Nanoparticles with Calf Thymus DNA

The focus of the study is to understand the interaction between calf thymus DNA and L-Cysteine capped Selenium nanoparticles (cys-SeNPs) using spectroscopic and calorimetric techniques. The size of the nanoparticles was confirmed using transmission electron microscope (TEM). Isothermal titration calorimerty (ITC) provided the binding energy, the number of binding sites and the thermodynamic parameters. UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence quenching studies established the number of binding sites and binding constant. Stabilization of the ct-DNA in the presence of cys-SeNPs was determined from thermal melting studies. It is confirmed by the spectrophotometric titration and calorimetric studies that, selenium nanoparticles can form a complex with the double–helical DNA. The binding constant of cys-SeNPs with the DNA from fluorescence study was found to be 2.953 × 106 M−1 and is consistent with the value obtained from ITC experiment. The binding energies along with the binding sites symbolize the crucial role of van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds in the binding of cys-SeNPs with ct-DNA.

Elucidating the interaction of l-cysteine-capped selenium nanoparticles and human serum albumin: spectroscopic and thermodynamic analysis

The adsorption of HSA on the surface of Se nanoparticles.

Assessment of multi-metal resistant bacteria from Periyar river, Southern India

A total of thirty bacterial strains were isolated from the water and sediment samples of Periyar river during premonsoon 2015 for multi-metal resistant study. In this study, the bacterial isolates were challenged against three different concentrations (10, 100 and 200 mM) of copper and chromium metal salt solution by using of plate diffusion method. Most of the isolates from Periyar river were resistant to minimum concentration of the both metal solutions. Nearly, 93.3 % were resistant to copper solution whereas 90.0 % were resistant to chromium solution. In 200 mM of Cu, 46.7 % of the populations showed growth rates between 71-80%, whereas 3.3 % of the populations were observed with a 51-60 % growth rate. At 200 mM Cr, 6.7 % of the populations showed 51-60 % growth rate. A growth rate between 61-70 % was observed for 13.3 % of the bacterial populations at 200 mM of Cr, whereas no population was growing at a growth rate of 050 % with 200 mM of Cr. The results indicated that the river received various pollution sources throughout the river-line. The sensitivity nature of the bacterial isolates against metal solutions were varied depend on the concentrations of the metal solutions. Hence, the river needed throughout impoundment for maintaining sanitation.

Exploring the interaction of l-cysteine capped CuS nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin (BSA): a spectroscopic study

l-Cysteine capped copper sulfide nanoparticles with an average particle size of 6 nm were synthesized using a chemical co-precipitation method and their interactions with bovine serum albumin were explored using various spectroscopic techniques.

A systematic investigation on the interaction of l-cysteine functionalised Mn3O4 nanoparticles with lysozyme

Interactions of cysteine capped Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles with HEWL.

Cuminaldehyde as a lipoxygenase inhibitor: in vitro and in silico validation

The search for lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitors has been carried out for decades due to its importance in inflammatory diseases. In the present study, it was observed that the methanolic extract of Cuminum cyminum L. inhibited LOX activity. Activity-guided screening of the C. cyminum crude extracts helped the identification and isolation of cuminaldehyde as a 15-LOX inhibitor. The enzyme kinetics analysis suggested cuminaldehyde to be a competitive inhibitor and the IC 50 value derived from LB plots is 1,370 μM. Binding constants of cuminaldehyde on LOX was deduced by isothermal titration calorimetry. The combined thermodynamics and molecular modeling analyses suggested cuminaldehyde as a competitive LOX inhibitor. It is proposed from the present study that the coordinate bond between the Fe(2+) atom in the active site of the enzyme and the cuminaldehyde may be responsible for the enzyme inhibition. The study suggests that cuminaldehyde may be acting as an anti-inflammatory compound and may be therefore included in the category of leads for developing dual COX-LOX inhibitors as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).