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54th Congress of the European-Societies-of-Toxicology (EUROTOX) - Toxicology Out of the Box -- SEP 02-05, 2018 -- Brussels, BELGIUM WOS: 000454045100375 DEHP and BPA, the main components of plastic products, are the important endocrine-disrupting chemicals which can mimic or disrupt the actions of estrogen by inhibiting normal functions of the body. Because of this widespread usage of DEHP and BPA, not only alone exposure but also combined exposure is considered as an important issue. Nowadays, researches are increased related to the effects on neurological functions instead of endocrine disrupting effects. This study aims to investigate combined exposure of DEHP and BPA and the possible effect of carnosic acid as an antioxidant. European Soc Toxicol

Background The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Xpert CARBA-R Test and the phenotyping confirmation tests (MHT, CIM, Mastdiscs, and Carba NP) for the detection of carbapenemases in multidrug resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. Methods A total of 68 MDR K. pneumoniae isolates isolated from various clinical samples, were included in the study. The identification and antibiotic susceptibility tests of these isolates were performed using the VITEK®2 (BioMerieux, France) automated system. The Xpert CARBA-R test was used as the molecular method. The combined disc method was performed using Mastdiscs Combi-D70C that includes four antibiotic discs with specific in-hibitors. The modified Hodge test was performed on all isolates. Carbapenemase inactivation method (CIM) and Carba NP test was used for carbapenemase enzyme production. Results Of the 50 isolates detected to produce carbapenemase by the molecular method (Xpert CARBA-R Test), 45 (90%) were detected by MHT, 39 (78%) were detected by CIM, and 42 (84%) were detected by Mastdiscs, while all the 50 isolates were detected by the Carba NP test. When the Xpert CARBA-R Test was taken as a reference, significant differences were found between the Carba NP and Xpert CARBA-R Test. There was no significant difference between the other phenotypic methods and Xpert CARBA-R Test. The sensitivity of the MHT, CIM, combined disc, and Carba NP tests was calculated as 0.90, 0.78, 0.84, and 1 and their specificity was calculated as 0.83, 0.83, 0.83 and 0, respectively. According to the gold standard, the predictive power of MHT, CIM, and MAST methods was found to be statistically significant. Conclusions There are various methods of carbapenemase detection, including phenotypic and molecular methods. There is no single detection method that is valid and usable in all conditions. Laboratories should choose a suitable carbapenemase detection and confirmation method in line with their needs, economic conditions, and infrastructures. Although the detection of the presence of carbapenemase by molecular methods is fast and reliable, low-cost phenotypic tests can be used in laboratories that do not have this possibility. It is an important advantage that the combined disc method can also determine the enzyme type.

Conclusions: In this study, the colistin/sulbactam combination is determined to be 20% synergistic and 60% partial synergistic effective of MDR Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. Diagonal gradient strip test method was used for the first time in this study to research the in vitro synergistic effect of colistin/sulbactam combination on MDR Acinetobacter baumannii isolates. There is a need for larger scale studies about this topic. Although there are some limitations in guidelines related to colistin susceptibility for gradient strip test, it is a method that can be used for other antibiotic combinations. For more accurate and precise results, it would be useful to plan in vitro and in vivo studies concurrently.

This paper presents a solution technique for the optimal reactive power flow (ORPF) of alternating current-direct current (AC-DC) power systems using the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm. A high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission link is one of the most important network components in AC-DC power systems. In recent years there has been an increasing number of studies related to power systems with HVDC transmission links. One of them is the reactive power flow (RPF) optimization. The aim of ORPF in alternating current (AC) or AC-DC power systems is to minimize transmission line power loss under equality and inequality constraints. The relationships related to the HVDC link are incorporated into AC power system equations considering its power transfer characteristics. This paper contributes to the solution of the problem by using the ABC algorithm for the first time. The proposed method is examined on three test systems and its effectiveness in these kinds of applications is shown by the comparative results.

Cervical cancer is among the top causes of death from cancer in women. Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been shown to improve survival; however, cisplatin treatment is associated with toxicity to healthy cells. Genistein has been used as an adjunct to chemotherapy to enhance the activity of chemotherapeutic agents without causing increased toxicity. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of genistein (25 μM) on antitumor activity of cisplatin (250 nM) on HeLa cervical cancer cells. We have examined the alterations in expression of NF-B, p-mTOR, p-p70S6K1, p-4E-BP1, and p-Akt protein levels in response to treatment. The combination of 25 μM genistein with 250 nM cisplatin resulted in significantly greater growth inhibition (). Genistein enhanced the antitumor activity of cisplatin and reduced the expression of NF-B, p-mTOR, p-p70S6K1, p-4E-BP1, and p-Akt. The results in the present study suggest that genistein could enhance the activity of cisplatin via inhibition of NF-κB and Akt/mTOR pathways. Genistein is a promising nontoxic nutritional agent that may enhance treatment outcome in cervical cancer patients when given concomitantly with cisplatin. Clinical trials of genistein and cisplatin combination are warranted to test this hypothesis.

This paper presents a solution technique for optimal power flow (OPF) of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power systems using a backtracking search algorithm (BSA). BSA is a population-based evolutionary algorithm (EA), and it is not sensitive to initial conditions, contrary to most other meta-heuristic algorithms. The proposed algorithm is applied to three different test systems as follows: the modified 5-bus test system, the modified WSCC 9-bus test system, and the modified New England 39-bus test system. As a result of the simulations, minimum, maximum, and average production costs and CPU times are obtained for different cases of each of the three test systems. These results are also compared to those of the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm, the Genetic Algorithm (GA), and the unified method provided in literature. In regard to the comparative results, it can be said that the proposed method has a shorter CPU time and is more efficient than the others. Thus, the applicability and efficiency of the proposed method in this field are demonstrated. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WOS: 000383578300178, …

Due to the increase rapidly of electricity demand and the deregulation of electricity markets, the energy networks are usually run close to their maximum capacity to transmit the needed power. Furthermore, the operators have to run the system to ensure its security and transient stability constraints under credible contingencies. Security and transient stability constrained optimal power flow (STSCOPF) problem can be illustrated as an extended OPF problem with additional line loading and rotor angle inequality constraints. This paper presents a new approach for STSCOPF solution by a chaotic artificial bee colony (CABC) algorithm based on chaos theory. The proposed algorithm is tested on IEEE 30-bus test system and New England 39-bus test system. The obtained results are compared to those obtained from previous studies in literature and the comparative results are given to show validity and effectiveness of proposed method. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study aimed to demonstrate the presence of erythropoietin (EPO) receptor on spermatozoa. Whole ejaculates of four healthy volunteers were incubated with polyclonal rabbit anti-EPO receptor and subsequently stained with a Cy-3 labelled secondary antibody. Four slides per subject were analysed, no staining was observed in slides incubated with either primary or secondary antibody alone. EPO receptor staining was positive in 92 ± 8% of EPO pre-treated and 91 ± 4% of non-treated sperm cells. The results suggest that spermatozoa express EPO receptor on plasma membrane, which might act to protect these cells from damage after ejaculation. © 2010, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Due to the usage of high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission links extensively in recent years, it requires more studies in this issue. Two-terminal HVDC transmission link is one of most important elements in electrical power systems. Generally, the representation of HVDC link is simplified for optimal reactive power flow (ORPF) studies in power systems. ORPF problem of purely AC power systems is defined as minimization of power loss under equality and inequality constraints. Hence, ORPF problem of integrated AC-DC power systems is extended to incorporate HVDC links taking into consideration power transfer control characteristics. In this paper, this problem is solved by genetic algorithm (GA) that is an evolutionary-based heuristic algorithm for the first time. The proposed method is tested on the modified IEEE 14-bus test system, the modified IEEE 30-bus test system, and the modified New England 39-bus test system. The validity, the efficiency, and effectiveness of the proposed method are shown by comparing the obtained results with that reported in literature. Thus, the impact of DC transmission links on the whole power systems is shown. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WOS: 000317537800026 PubMed ID: 23396088 Because of their favorable action profiles in humans, both memantine and melatonin are particularly interesting candidates as neuroprotectants in acute ischemic stroke. Until now, the signaling mechanisms mediating memantine's neuroprotective actions remained essentially uninvestigated. In addition, we have combined memantine with melatonin, which is a well-known neuroprotective molecule. Herein, we examined the effects of memantine (20 mg/kg, i.p.) administered alone or in combination with melatonin (4 mg/kg, i.p.) on the activation of signaling transduction pathways, IgG extravasation and ischemic injury in mice submitted to 90 min of intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion, followed by 24 h of reperfusion. In these studies, both agents reduced ischemic injury and the density of DNA-fragmentation. Notably, melatonin/memantine combination reduced ischemic injury further as compared with memantine treatment, which was associated with reduced IgG extravasation, indicating vascular leakage in the brain. Animals receiving memantine exhibited elevated ERK-1/2 and decreased p21 and p38/MAPK activations, while it had no significant effect on phosphorylated Akt and SAPK/JNK1/2 in the ischemic brain. However, melatonin increased the activation of Akt and reduced the activations of ERK-1/2, p21, p38/MAPK and SAPK/JNK1/2 significantly. Synergistic effects of memantine and melatonin were observed in the inactivation of p21, p38/MAPK and SAPK/JNK1/2 pathways. Moreover, memantine reversed the effects of melatonin on the activation of ERK-1/2 pathway. Here, we provide evidence that free radical scavenger melatonin potentiates the effects of memantine on ischemic brain injury via inactivations of p21 and stress kinases p38/MAPK and SAPK/JNK1/2 pathways. EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization); Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA/GEBIP) We thank M. Ugur and S. Eyuboglu for technical assistance. This work was supported by EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization) installation Grant and The Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA/GEBIP).

Melatonin is synthesized and released by the pineal gland in a circadian rhythm, and many of its peripheral actions are mediated via membrane MT1 and MT2 receptors. Apart from its metabolic functions, melatonin is a potent neuroprotective molecule owing to its antioxidative actions. The roles of MT1 and MT2 in the neuroprotective effects of melatonin and cell signaling after cerebral ischemia remain unknown. With the use of MT1 and MT2 knockout (mt1/2-/-) mice treated with melatonin, we evaluated brain injury, edema formation, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity, and signaling pathways, including CREB, ATF-1, p21, Jun kinase (JNK)1/2, p38 phosphorylation, resulting from ischemia/reperfusion injury. We show that the infarct volume and brain edema do not differ between mt1/2-/- and wild-type (WT) animals, but melatonin treatment decreases infarct volume in both groups and brain edema in WT animals after middle cerebral artery occlusion. Notably, melatonin's neuroprotective effect was even more pronounced in mt1/2 -/- animals compared to that in WT animals. We also demonstrate that melatonin treatment decreased CREB, ATF-1, and p38 phosphorylation in both mt1/2-/- and WT mice, while p21 and JNK1/2 were reduced only in melatonin-treated WT animals in the ischemic hemisphere. Furthermore, melatonin treatment lowered iNOS activity only in WT animals. We provide evidence that the absence of MT1 and MT2 has no unfavorable effect on ischemic brain injury. In addition, the neuroprotective effects of melatonin appear to be mediated through a mechanism independent of its membrane receptors. The underlying mechanism(s) should be further studied using selective melatonin receptor agonists and antagonists. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

In the study multi objective optimum power flow problem is solved through chaotic artificial bee colony algorithm. For the solution of the problem both chaos theory and artificial algorithm are utilized together. Until today chaos theory has been used with numerous heuristic methods. The chaos theory is utilized together with artificial bee colony algorithm through its application on the best individual at the end of the each generation. The artificial bee colony algorithm is a new population based heuristic algorithm that reaches its global minimum at linear and non-convex problems in a short while. In this algorithm the source of inspiration is the nutrition pursuit of the bees in nature. The proposed method is applied to IEEE 30-bus test system. In order to illustrate the efficiency of chaotic artificial bee colony algorithm the results are compared with other findings in the literature. Copyright (C) 2011 Praise Worthy Prize S.r.l. - All rights reserved.

Udgivelsesdato: 2009-Aug Recent evidence suggests that neural stem/precursor cells (NPCs) promote recovery in animal models with delayed neuronal death via a number of indirect bystander effects. A comprehensive knowledge of how transplanted NPCs exert their therapeutic effects is still lacking. Here, we investigated the effects of a delayed transplantation of adult syngenic NPCs--injected intravenously 72 h after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion--on neurological recovery, histopathology and gene expression. NPC-transplanted mice showed a significantly improved recovery from 18 days post-transplantation (dpt) onwards, which persisted throughout the study. A small percentage of injected NPCs accumulated in the brain, integrating mainly in the infarct boundary zone, where most of the NPCs remained undifferentiated up to 30 dpt. Histopathological analysis revealed a hitherto unreported very delayed neuroprotective effect of NPCs, becoming evident at 10 and 30 dpt. Tissue survival was associated with downregulation of markers of inflammation, glial scar formation and neuronal apoptotic death at both mRNA and protein levels. Our data highlight the relevance of very delayed degenerative processes in the stroke brain that are intimately associated with inflammatory and glial responses. These processes may efficaciously be antagonized by (stem) cell-based strategies at time-points far beyond established therapeutic windows for pharmacological neuroprotection.