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Journal Article 2007; 28(5): 675-680 PubMed PMID: 17984945 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Copper:blood, Exercise:physiology, Humans, Male, Oxygen Consumption:physiology, Physical Exertion:physiology, Reference Values, Statistics, Nonparametric, Zinc:blood,.   

: This study was carried out in order to determine the effect of acute maximal aerobic exercise on the copper and zinc levels in blood. The study was participated by 16 healthy male university students with an average age of 19.44+/-1.63. There were 5 cc blood samples taken from the participants before and after they had been subjected to aerobic loading process (20 m shuttle run). The copper and zinc levels in the blood samples were determined by the use of Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV) technique. The data obtained were evaluated by simple t test and SPSS software. The results revealed the fact that the blood Zn levels of the participants increased and Cu levels decreased with statistical significant extent (p<0.01) after maximal aerobic loading. There found no correlation between the maximal aerobic power levels (Max VO2) of the participants and their resting copper and zinc blood levels. However blood zinc and Max VO2 levels of the participants were positively correlated after maximal aerobic loading. The participants were fed on a zinc and copper free diet six week prior to the program. They were also asked not to use copper and zinc containing vitamins during this period....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(5): 662-665 PubMed PMID: 17984929 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Altruism, Amylases:metabolism, Decision Making:physiology, Games, Experimental, Humans, Male, Reference Values, Reward, Saliva:metabolism, Self Concept, Social Perception,.   

OBJECTIVE: Little is known regarding the relationship between social evaluation-induced neuroendocrine responses and generosity in game-theoretic situations. Previous studies demonstrated that reputation formation plays a pivotal role in prosocial behavior. This study aimed to examine the relationships between a social evaluation-induced salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) response and generosity in the dictator game. The relationship is potentially important in neuroeconomics of altruism and game theory.

METHODS: We assessed sAA and allocated money in the dictator game in male students with and without social evaluation. RESULTS Social evaluation-responders allocated significantly more money than controls; while there was no significant correlation between social evaluation-induced sAA elevation and the allocated money.

CONCLUSIONS: Social evaluation significantly increases generosity in the dictator game, and individual differences in trait characteristics such as altruism and reward sensitivity may be important determinants of generosity in the dictator game task....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(4): 335-340 PubMed PMID: 17693982 Citation  Keywords:  Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity:chemically induced, Calcium:metabolism, Carbon Dioxide:metabolism, Child Development:drug effects, Chorionic Villi:metabolism, Cross-Sectional Studies, Embryonic Development:drug effects, Erythrocytes:metaboli.   

: This work points out consequences of lead on prenatal and postnatal development of child that have not been elaborated in such extent before. Our new method for proof of lead in placenta enabled us to show how lead is from mother's blood erythrocytes in the intervillous space released and received by the villous syncytiotrophoblast. This finding enriches relation between mother's erythrocytes, lead, calcium that is a lead carrier, and syncytiotrophoblast. Our finding of abundant thin terminal villi, that in some places form bunches observed in scanning electron microscope, points out deficiency of O2 and CO2 transport in placenta. This phenomenon is indirect evidence that periphery "starves" for oxygen that participates in maintaining conditions for intact development of child. Behaviour of fibrin deposit layer before the childbirth is also discussed. Attention is paid to possible rise of hyperkinetic syndrome of children as a consequence of mother's dwelling in environment polluted with lead. Presence of lead is verified by infrared spectroscopy....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(4): 367-381 PubMed PMID: 17693980 Citation  Keywords:  Aged, Case-Control Studies, Critical Illness:therapy, Female, Humans, Lipid Peroxidation:physiology, Male, Middle Aged, Oxidation-Reduction, Oxidative Stress:physiology, Regression Analysis, Treatment Outcome, Triiodothyronine:blood,.   

OBJECTIVES: Increased oxidative stress and low-T3 syndrome may develop in critically ill patients. The study aimed at evaluating the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in critically ill patients and at estimating the relationships among LPO level, the death rate, the rate of low-T3 syndrome and patient's clinical status.

METHODS: Lipid peroxidation (LPO) level was studied in seventy (70) adult, critically ill patients and 48 healthy volunteers. Critically ill patients were classified into survivors and non-survivors, or those with and without the low-T3 syndrome (normal-T3).

RESULTS: LPO level was four times higher in critically ill patients than in healthy volunteers. Among non-survivors, LPO level was higher in patients with the low-T3 syndrome than in patients without this syndrome, and among survivors, the tendency was opposite. Additionally, the extent, to which LPO level increased, depended on the kind of the disease. The degree of LPO variability was higher in survivors than in non-survivors. LPO level was lower in patients with higher number of therapeutic interventions.

CONCLUSION: A tremendous increase in oxidative damage to lipids in critically ill patients strongly depends on the kind of pathological process and, under certain conditions, higher LPO levels could be due to more favourable outcome....

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Comparative Study 2007; 28(4): 386-394 PubMed PMID: 17693975 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Aldosterone:blood, Altitude, Atrial Natriuretic Factor:blood, Cross-Sectional Studies, Health Surveys, Humans, Hypertension:blood, Jordan, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Renin:blood,.   

: A cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the association of the levels of plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone (ALDO) and atrial natriuretic hormone (ANH) with the rates of hypertension prevalence in people living at 340 meters below sea level, the Jordan Valley (JV) and those residing at 620 meters above sea level, Irbid City. 1072 natives from the JV and 1402 natives from Irbid City were covered by a questionnaire to estimate hypertension prevalence in the JV and Irbid city (population age: 35-65 years). Male subjects were selected from the JV (24 hypertensives, 46+/-15 years old, and 93 normotensives, 33+/-13 years old) and from Irbid City (31 hypertensives, 47+/-12 years old, and 89 normotensives, 40+/-13 years old) to evaluate the levels of PRA, ALDO and ANH. Hypertension was less common in the JV than in Irbid City (9.9% vs. 13.6%). The levels of PRA in the hypertensive subjects compared to the normotensive subjects were lower in the JV (1.7+/-1.0 vs. 2.6+/-1.4 ng/ml/hr) but were similar in Irbid City (2.9+/-2.7 vs. 3.2+/-2.7). The levels of ALDO in the hypertensive subjects compared to the normotensive subjects were similar in the JV (119+/-58 vs. 139+/-66 pg/ml) but were higher in Irbid City (199+/-112 vs. 146+/-84). The levels of ANH in the hypertensive subjects compared to the normotensive subjects were lower in the JV (13.9+/-9.3 vs. 28.0+/-12.7 ng/ml) and were also lower in Irbid City (21.0+/-12.2 vs. 26.7+/-11.6)....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(4): 489-495 PubMed PMID: 17693961 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Cell Count, Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Corticosterone:blood, Immune System:physiology, Macrophages:pathology, Male, Melatonin:blood, Microspheres, Peritoneal Cavity:cytology, Phagocytosis:physiology, Physical Conditioning, Animal:physiology, Ra.   

: Corticosterone is thought to be the main glucocorticoid secreted in response to stressful exercise, while melatonin buffers the adverse immunological effects of stress. The present work was aimed to evaluate whether swimming-exercise-induced stress leads to changes in the chronobiology parameters of the circadian rhythms of melatonin and corticosterone, and in the number and phagocytosis of peritoneal macrophages in 3-month-old male Wistar rats. The animals were subjected to a physical activity trial consisting of 2 h of free swimming. Radioimmunoassay was used to determine the plasma levels of melatonin and corticosterone. Phagocytosis was measured by the latex-bead phagocytosis index (PI), i.e., the number of latex beads ingested by 100 macrophages, the phagocytosis percentage (PP), i.e., the percentage of cells that had phagocytosed at least one latex bead, and the phagocytosis efficiency (PE), i.e., the ratio PI: PP which indicates how effectively the phagocytes ingested the particles. Stress significantly decreased the MESOR and amplitude of the melatonin rhythm, and significantly increased the MESOR of the corticosterone rhythm. The control animals' peritoneal macrophage number and PI showed a circadian rhythm with maxima at 02:00 and 03:00, respectively. The stressed group displayed higher values of PI than the controls at most hours of the night, but the number of cells in the peritoneal cavity was practically the same at all hours studied. These data confirm that melatonin and corticosterone act as modulators of the innate immune response, and that the circadian rhythm of the two hormones are altered in situations of stress....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(4): 470-472 PubMed PMID: 17627273 Citation  Keywords:  Administration, Oral, Albinism:genetics, Alloxan, Animals, Ballota, Blood Glucose:metabolism, Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental:blood, Female, Hypoglycemic Agents:administration & dosage, Insulin:blood, Male, Plant Extracts:administration & dosage, Rats, Ra.   

: The hypoglycemic effect of Ballota nigra extract on albino rats was investigated. Alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus was accompanied by several fold increases in plasma glucose. Administration of aqueous extract of B. nigra extract significantly reduced glucose in both healthy and diabetic rats. These results suggest that B. nigra possess hypoglycemic effects in rats and therefore, can be useful for the treatment of diabetes mellitus....

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Journal Article 2007; 28(3): 326-332 PubMed PMID: 17627271 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Contraceptive Agents, Female:pharmacology, Drug Implants, Estradiol:analysis, Feces:chemistry, Female, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Levonorgestrel:administration & dosage, Macaca, Perineum:pathology, Progesterone:analysis,.   

OBJECTIVE: Administered levonorgestrel enables contraception under normal cyclicity of the ovaries and does not suppress the development of cyclic perineal swellings. This study investigated the influence of levonorgestrel on fecal gonadal steroid excretion rates and the expression of perineal swelling size.

SETTINGS: Two groups of Barbary macaque females were observed: Twenty-four implanted individuals under semifree conditions and five non-implanted individuals under caged conditions. Eight of the implanted females had large expressions of the perinea and sixteen reduced. The non-implanted group had no perineal swellings.

METHODS: To determine the individual steroid excretion rates and exzymeimmunoassay for decal samples was established.

RESULTS: Estradiol excretion rates did not differ in distinctively swollen implanted females, but were increased when compared to non-implanted individuals (df=2; p=0.0002). Implanted females with large perineal swellings had lower progesterone concentrations in the feces compared to individuals with reduced swellings and did not differ from the non-swollen group (df=2; p=0.054). Females with large perineal swellings showed a higher calculated estradiol to progesterone ratio index than the other groups (df=2; p=0.0005). Non-implanted individuals showed increased testosterone excretion rates (df.=2; p=0.0001).

MAIN FINDINGS: The results indicate a positive relationship between the perineal swelling size and levonorgestrel implantation.

CONCLUSION: The ratio of fecal estradiol and progesterone titers can be judged as an endocrine indicator for the expression rate of perineal swelling size....

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