Effects of Valine and Leucine on Some Antioxidant Enzymes in Hypercholesterolemic Rats

Objective: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in the endothelial-mediated disorders within atherosclerosis. Considering that an oxidant/antioxidant imbalance might be a key factor in the damaging ROS-mediated effects, the present study intends to determine the influence of a high-fat diet, associated with essential amino acids—valine and leucine, upon the experimental animals, through evaluation of plasmatic level of some antioxidant enzymes. Material and Methods: The study was conducted on 32 male Wistar rats, which were fed with cholesterol, valine and leucine, for 60 days. The animals were divided into four groups, according to the received diet: the first group—standard diet;the second group—cholesterol (C);the third group—cholesterol and valine (C + V);the fourth group—cholesterol and leucine (C + L). Evaluations of the oxidative status, through plasma levels of the antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidise (GPx), were made for the four mentioned groups of animals, at the beginning of the study (R0), after one (R1) and two months (R2). Results: The average values of SOD and GPx in group of animals fed exclusively with cholesterol (C) were significantly higher compared to the third group where cholesterol was supplemented with valine (C + V) or fourth group fed with cholesterol and leucine (C + L) (p < 0.001), after one month as well at the end of the experiment (two months). There were no significant differences in the levels of SOD and GPx between group III and group IV (p < 0.05) at the end of the experiment. Conclusion: Our results showed that valine and leucine decreased the serum levels of SOD and GPx and therefore they were useful antioxidants, which could improve the endothelial dysfunctions associated with atherosclerosis. Moreover, analysis of the oxidative status in the context of atherosclerotic mediated endothelial damage suggests that deviation from normal to alter endothelial status may be conditioned by an oxidants/antioxidants imbalance.

A Short Vector Solution of the Foucault Pendulum Problem

The paper studies the motion of the Foucault Pendulum in a rotating non-inertial reference frame and provides a closed form vector solution determined by vector and matrix calculus. The solution is determined through vector and matrix calculus in both cases, for both forms of the law of motion (for the Foucault Pendulum Problem and its “Reduced Form”). A complex vector which transforms the motion equation in a first order differential equation with constant coefficients is used. Also, a novel kinematic interpretation of the Foucault Pendulum motion is given.

A Quaternion Solution of the Motion in a Central Force Field Relative to a Rotating Reference Frame

The paper presents a quaternion approach of giving a closed form solution of the motion in a central force field relative to a rotating reference frame. This new method involves two quaternion operators: the first one transforms the motion from a non-inertial reference frame to a inertial one with a very significant consequence of vanishing all the non-inertial terms (Coriolis and centripetal forces);the second quaternion operator provides the solution of the motion in the noninertial reference frame by applying it to the solution in the inertial reference frame. This process will govern the inverse transformation of the motion and is proved on two particular cases, the Foucault Pendulum and Keplerian motions problems relative to rotating reference frames.

Double Problem -Clostridium difficile and Diabetes

Considered to be the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea, Clostridium difficile infection is a daily clinical reality, and its incidence is increasing globally. Many factors have been implicated in causing this infection, including glucose metabolism disorder. Aim： to evaluate the prevalence of diabetes among patients with C. difficile colitis and assessing the risk of disease relapse and extension of the disease, in combination with diabetes mellitus infection. Materials and methods： were included in the study 102 patients known to have diabetes type 1 or type 2 admitted to our clinic between January 2016 and June 2017, from a total of 648 patients diagnosed with C. difficile colitis. We used data from observation charts of patients. Results： 98% were suffering from type 2 diabetes, mostly female, respectively from urban areas, 29.4% being at the second hospitalization in our clinic for the same symptoms. Studying the average length of hospitalization, compared with a control group, we noticed the prolongation of hospitalization for patients with metabolic pathology associated with approximately 7 days. Conclusions： Diabetes is a risk factor for the occurrence and recurrence of C. difficile infection, an additional risk factor being the age.

Polyphenolic extract association with renin inhibitors in experimental arterial hypertension

Various epidemiological studies have shown an inverse association between the consumption of polyphenols or polyphenol-rich foods and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the study was to emphasize the effects of the association between the renin inhibitor and the polyphenolic extract on biochemical parameters and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The polyphenols are extracted from isolated and purified vegetable material represented by the mature fruit of the Aronia melanocarpa. The experiment was performed on the arterial hypertension model. In the arterial hypertensive model the cardioprotective effects of the polyphenolic extract from Aronia melanocarpa are represented by the antioxidant, hypocolesterolemiant intervention. Polyphenolic extract from Aronia melanocarpa reduce systolic and diastolic arterial tension values in rats with drug-induced hypertension, a phenomenon more pronounced when polyphenols are associated with Aliskiren (renin inhibitor). The combination between the Aliskiren and polyphenolic extract produce superior hypolipidemic and antioxidant effects than in the case of separate administration within experimental arterial hypertension induced in the murine model.

Superoxide Dismutase: Therapeutic Targets in SOD Related Pathology

There are growing evidences on the role of adaptive mechanisms of all cell types in pathological processes: atherosclerosis, ischemic attack, bacterial infections, etc. All kinds of these processes involve as main mechanism oxidative stress. Aerobic organisms use oxygen in processes that accidentally or deliberately generate aggressive species for the biologic components in the form of radicals. Radicals were looked initially as “harmful” molecules and this is true for large quantities but in small or even moderate amounts these molecules prove to have a physiological role. Reactive species are highly reactive and as a consequence are short living species. Their impact is supposed to be limited in the proximity area of their formation. Instead recent evidences indicate their implications in cellular signaling suggesting that individual chemical properties of reactive species make a difference in their biological role. This paper presents superoxide, nitric oxide and peroxide radical generation under cellular changing conditions, the adapting behavior of the enzymes that synthesize and remove them as well as some therapeutic target in superoxide related pathology.

Current opinion on the importance of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Multidisciplinary pulmonary rehabilitation （PR） is a .widely accepted non-pharmacological treatment method that tries to improve exercise tolerance and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） and non-COPD patients, together with reduction in medical services use.1 The aim of PR is to help respiratory patients to reach and keep a maximal functioning and independence level within community^2 The patients severely affected by other pulmonary diseases than COPD are benefiting of intensive PR and the degree of improvement is similar to that obtained in COPD^3