A combination of infrared, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectroscopies are used to provide complete vibrational spectra of several amino acids and dipeptides. The amino acids studied were glycine, alanine, glutamine, cysteine, methionine and phenylalanine and the dipeptides studied were Gly–Gln and Gly–Ala. The findings of this study have shown how the complementarity of infrared, Raman and INS spectroscopies can be exploited to provide complete vibrational spectra of amino acids and peptides. In particular, the strengths of INS spectroscopy are highlighted: the absence of selection rules, that hydrogenic motions are emphasised, the ready access to the low energy regime (<400 cm−1) and the straightforward calculation of intensities. In the future, it should be possible to apply this approach to the study of larger peptides as well as proteins.
For sometime Turkish scientists have been actively involved in biotechnology related research. However, biotechnology education in Turkey is a relatively recent phenomenon. The subject has not been addressed at the undergraduate level in a serious way until recently. This is evident from the lack of undergraduate degree programmes in biotechnology at Turkish Universities. The Turkish scienti"c establishment is very much aware of the importance of biotechnology and has identi"ed this subject as one of the priority areas. The Universities are taking positive steps towards enhancing Biotechnology education. This article focuses on the emergence, as well as
Abstract. Millions of people in Bangladesh are exposed to high concentration of the toxic element arsenic (As) through drinking water and consumption of foods. It has also been reported that Bangladeshis have a low intake of the essential element selenium (Se), which is known to be important as an antioxidant and has been suggested to counteract the toxicity of As. We report here on total intake of As and Se in a Bangladeshi population, based on inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric (ICP-MS) analysis of a range of Bangladeshi foods. The total daily intake of As and Se from foods was estimated to be 74.2 and 87.7 µg/day, respectively. If As from water, used for drinking and cooking rice, is included the TDI increases to 385 µg of total As per day. An important finding of our study, contrary to suggestions given in other reports, is that the Bangladeshi diet does not appear to be deficient in Se and this may explain why the blood Se concentrations in Bangladeshis is similar to the USA population. This requires further investigation and detailed dietary and human biomonitoring studies on the Bangladeshi population should be conducted. Rice and fish were the main sources of dietary As and Se for Bangladeshis. Leafy vegetables could also be a significant contributor of high concentration of As in the Bangladeshi diet. The flesh and eggs of Hilsha (Tenualosa ilisha) species of fish were found to contain particularly high levels of total arsenic (range 0.77-6.15 mg/kg) although this is likely to be dominated by the non-toxic organoarsenic species.
Background: Ramadan is a sacred month in Islam, which involves 29–30 days of dawn-till-dusk dry-fasting. Millions of Muslims observed Ramadan fasting (RF) this year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain ethnic groups worldwide, including Muslims, have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, raising fears that fasting could bring additional health risks. This directly impacted on the current challenges faced by health professionals. The COVID-19 virus is expected to become seasonal. Therefore, the evidence presented in this review is valid beyond Ramadan as intermittent fasting is practiced more widely, irrespective of religion, throughout the year as a therapeutic and prophylactic means for several conditions. Methods: A wide range of literature databases were searched for the effects of RF and intermittent fasting on human health and then linked to COVID-19 impact to generate the evidence. Results: This review presents a body of evidence proving RF is safe and beneficial for healthy people who adopt a balanced diet, drink plenty of fluids, and engage in regular physical activity. Fasting reduces levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-6), which are associated with severe COVID-19. Furthermore, increased handwashing and hygiene during Ramadan may reduce infection risks. For some, social isolation, physical inactivity, reduced access to food and stress – linked to the pandemic – may minimize the benefits that is achieved during a “normal” Ramadan. Conclusions: RF during the COVID-19 pandemic is not a cause of concern for healthy people. However, people who are ill are exempt from fasting and should seek medical advice if they wish to fast. RF during the COVID-19 pandemic is a unique experience and future research will reveal its impact on human health. Key words: COVID-19; Ramadan; fasting; health; mental; exercise; isolation; lockdown; diabetes; biomarkers
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Involving teachers in scientific research can increase schoolchildren's interest in studying science from an early stage which is critical to increase the numbers of high-school students studying scientific subjects. This will impact on the number of students enrolled in university science degrees to satisfy many basic human needs. A group of academics at De Montfort University (DMU, UK) have involved the Ravenhurst Primary School (RPS) in biomedical research, specifically a human biomonitoring (HBM) study involving schoolchildren (aged 6-9 years) and university students (aged 18-22 years) in Leicester (UK) to determine their nutritional status and exposure to metals. We have adopted a school-based approach to recruit participants from both educational arenas following the recommendations for executing HBM studies in Europe [1] with some modifications.Permission from the school authorities was requested after gaining ethical approval from the DMU Research Ethics Committee (Ref. 1674). Parental/student consent was obtained by invitation and appointment letter, with the project details and ethical and data protection aspects written in simple language. Appropriately developed flyers, posters and information leaflets for each audience were also used to enhance the recruitment processes. Scheduling and facilitating flexible face-to-face appointments was critical for collecting the human samples needed for the project (urine and scalp hair) as well as comprehensive details about participants' diet and anthropometric measurements. The involvement of teachers and lecturers in conjunction with a registered general nurse (school nursing) was of paramount importance for achieving these goals, as they were encouraging participation throughout the process. During the appointments, parents and participants were debriefed in more detail about the project and the relevance of performing HBM to improve health in the community.The school-based approach achieved the following results: a) the recruitment of a relevant number of participants (12 schoolchildren and 111 university students); b) the provision of a satisfying educational experience for parents, teachers/academics and participants in both educational arenas; c) the involvement of school-children in scientific research; d) the acquisition of awareness of the impact of environmental contamination by metals on human health; e) informing participants about their diets and body composition (e.g. percentage of body fat) promoting the necessity of adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle.In conclusion, the project was successful in involving School teachers, University lecturers, schoolchildren, University students and community health workers in a research project. It provided an opportunity for educational development, promote staff motivation and students' interest and involvement in scientific research. Teachers updated their biomedical knowledge and skills by participating in this research and learnt new methods to engage schoolchildren (by promoting healthy lifestyl...
Abstract. Anti-cholinesterase and antioxidant active constituents of Plectranthus barbatus aqueous extract were found in plasma of rats after its administration -rosmarinic acid, luteolin and apigenin. The aim of the present work is to determine if the extract components can interact with human plasma proteins, namely albumin and lysozyme. Protein intrinsic fluorescence analysis showed that the plant phenolic compounds may bind to albumin, the main transport protein in plasma, and to lysozyme. The estimated thermodynamic parameters suggest that the main intermolecular interaction is hydrophobic association. FTIR analysis of the protein amide bands showed that the plant extract components do not alter the secondary structure of either albumin or lysozyme, however the rate of hydrogen-deuterium exchange suggests that tertiary structure changes might have occurred. An increase of hydrogen deuterium exchange suggests that rosmarinic acid may bind to the fatty acid binding sites in albumin, while luteolin and apigenin may bind to the drug binding sites. The plant extract components also inhibit lysozyme activity with IC 50 values around 100 µM. Therefore P. barbatus herbal tea, rosmarinic acid, luteolin and apigenin interact and may be transported by albumin and lysozyme. The inhibition of lysozyme activity may be an additional mechanism for its anti-inflammatory activity.
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