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1. The gastroprotective activity of two azomethine prodrugs of (R)-alpha-methylhistamine was examined in lesions induced by absolute ethanol (1 ml/rat intragastrically for 1 h). 2. Pretreatment with (R)-alpha-methylhistamine as well as with the prodrugs (30 and 100 mg/kg intragastrically [IG]) significantly reduced macroscopically visible lesions caused by ethanol, with protection being almost complete at 100 mg/kg. 3. Histologically, in rats pretreated with the three compounds at a dose of 100 mg/kg, the evidence of damage was rare, with the appearance of gastric mucosa being similar in the different groups. 4. Present results are suggestive of a local component in the protective activity of (R)-alpha-methylhistamine.

Consumer interest in food products, including fresh vegetables, with health promoting properties is rising. In fresh vegetables, these properties include vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and secondary compounds, which collectively impart a large portion of the dietary, nutritional or health value associated with vegetable intake. Many, including farmers, aim to increase the health-promoting properties of fresh vegetables on the whole but they face at least three obstacles. First, describing crop composition in terms of its nutrition-based impact on human health is complex and there are few, if any, accepted processes and associated metrics for assessing and managing vegetable composition on-farm, at the origin of supply. Second, data suggest that primary and secondary metabolism can be 'in conflict' when establishing the abundance versus composition of a crop. Third, fresh vegetable farmers are rarely compensated for the phytochemical composition of their product. The development and implementation of a fresh vegetable 'nutritional yield' index could be instrumental in overcoming these obstacles. Nutritional yield is a function of crop biomass and tissue levels of health-related metabolites, including bioavailable antioxidant potential. Data from a multi-factor study of leaf lettuce primary and secondary metabolism and the literature suggest that antioxidant yield is sensitive to genetic and environmental production factors, and that changes in crop production and valuation will be required for fresh vegetable production systems to become more focused and purposeful instruments of public health.

Abstract The influence of sorbitol on the rate of oxidation of ethanol and accumulation of acetaldehyde was studied in intact rats pretreated with propyl thiouracil or triiodothyronine. Sorbital inhibited ethanol oxidation by 58 per cent in hypothyroid and by 33 per cent in euthyroid rats but no significant inhibition was observed in hyperthyroid animals. Fructose increased and sorbitol significantly decresed the acetaldehyde level of hepatic venous blood in euthyroid animals given ethanol. The experiments suggested that the higher the oxidation rate of ethanol the higher the initial concentration of acetaldehyde in the hepatic venous blood of intact rats.

Forty-nine schools (N = 5,680 fifth and sixth grade students) were assigned to pre test/treatment, pretest/no treatment, no pretest/treatment, and no pretest/no treat ment conditions in the context of an alcohol misuse prevention study. At the first posttest, five months after the pretest and two months after the intervention, the effects of the pretest and of the intervention were examined. The analyses showed that failure to correct for the design effect due to clustering within schools resulted in the overestimation of the significance of treatment and pretest effects. After correction for the design effect, a significant treatment effect in the hypothesized direction was found with respect to students' awareness of the content of the curriculum. As hypo thesized, significant treatment effects on the alcohol use and misuse measures had not yet developed but are expected to occur at subsequent posttest occasions. Significant pretest effects were found for indices measuring trouble with peers resulting from students' alcohol use, students' internal health locus of control, and their perceptions of adults as a locus of control for their health. Two of the three pretest effects were in the direction that would be hypothesized if the pretest were providing the same impe tus as the intervention. Implications of these findings for school-based substance abuse prevention programs are discussed.

Abstract An orange and an apple juice each containing 250–385 ppm tin were under suspicion of having caused an outbreak of food poisoning in Kuwait in 1967 but did not cause any toxic signs when fed to pigeons, cats and dogs. One cat out of 11 vomited when fed an orange juice containing 540 ppm tin derived from the container, and with juices containing 1370 ppm tin, 20–30% of the cats vomited but none of the dogs was affected. Fruit juices containing 2000 ppm tin caused vomiting in up to 40% of the cats. Modification of orange juices with a high tin content by addition of nitrate or ethanol or by adjustment of the pH from 3 to 6 did not affect the incidence of vomiting. No toxic signs were produced in rats given fruit juices containing added tin salts up to a level of 995 ppm or in rats and cats given aqueous solutions of tin salts (up to 1200 ppm tin) in citric acid. Solid foods containing tin derived from the containers up to the highest level obtainable (470 ppm) had no toxic effect when fed to dogs and cats. Five human volunteers showed no toxic signs after drinking fruit juices containing 498, 540 or 730 ppm tin derived from the containers, but all five had some gastro-intestinal disturbance after drinking a fruit juice containing 1370 ppm tin. A repeat experiment with the latter juice had no effect in four of the volunteers and only mild symptoms in the fifth. In rats and cats, there was no evidence of tin absorption 24 hr after ingestion of fruit juices containing high levels of tin. No tin was recovered from the urine and in the rats 99% was recovered from the faeces. Only minute amounts of tin could be found in the body, apart from the alimentary tract, of a rat that had been given orange juice with a high tin content ad lib. instead of drinking water for 7 days. It is concluded that toxic signs follow the drinking of tin-containing fruit juices by man and cats only with tin levels of approximately 1400 ppm and above, that there is no evidence from these experiments that toxicity is due to the absorption of tin and that the most likely cause is local irritation of the mucous membrane of the alimentary tract.

Chlorpropamide-alcohol flush (CPAF) tests were carried out in 15 male and 15 female Type 2 diabetics. Twelve subjects were CPAF-positive and 18 were -negative. The two groups did not differ in age or duration of diabetes, but the CPAF-positive subjects weighed less (mean difference 13 kg) and had higher plasma chlorpropamide levels. There was a negative correlation between plasma chlorpropamide and body weight, and a positive correlation between plasma chlorpropamide and the increase in facial skin temperature. Females had higher plasma chlorpropamide, a greater skin temperature increase and lower body weight than males; there were 11 females and only 1 male amongst the 12 CPAF-positive subjects. The findings confirm that plasma chlorpropamide is a major determinant of the CPAF reaction and also show that body weight strongly influences the chlorpropamide level and, consequently, the outcome of the CPAF test. The sex difference in body weight probably accounts for most, if not all, of the sex difference in the incidence of the CPAF.

Serum lipoproteins have received considerable notoriety as risk factors for atherosclerotic disease, yet the kinetic factors that determine serum concentrations are often unappreciated. Simple compartmental models for lipoprotein kinetics are herein presented which integrate key features of lipoprotein metabolism and allow prediction of very low-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein levels in a wide variety of clinical circumstances. Possible changes in kinetic parameters responsible for hyperlipidemia in obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, carbohydrate (sugar)-induced hypertriglyceridemia, alcoholic type V hyperlipemia, polyunsaturated fat diets, and several pharmacological interventions are discussed. Key features of lipoprotein metabolism are briefly reviewed.

AbstractThe efficacy of thyroid (FNAB) processed by liquid‐based cytology (LBC) in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (HT) in two reference periods, is evaluated. The morphologic features of 820 cases with both methods and the cyto‐histological comparison are analyzed. The diagnosis of hyperplastic nodules (HN) in HT, its mimickers especially in presence of oxyphilic cells and the role of immunocytochemistry (IHC) are studied.150 cases of HT processed by conventional smear (CS) in 1996–98 and 670 with LBC in 2005–2007,were included. The majority of FNAB were carried out under USguidance and fixed with ethyl alcohol for the CS. LBC material was rinsed in the Cytolit solution, processed according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Among the 150 CS, 83 were HT while 67 were HN in HT; in the second triennium 245 LBC were HT and 425 were HN in HT. In the first period a follow‐up (including a second FNA or surgery) was done in 92 cases, in the second period in 116.In the surgical group 97.1% in the first period were benign (all HT and 34/36 HN) and 2.8% malignant(all HN). In 2005–2007, 94% were benign (15 HT and 45/49 HN) and 6%malignant. Thirty HN from the second triennium had ICC for HBME‐1 and Galectin‐3 resulting negative in 93.5%. Among these cases, 10 had a benign histology and a concordant negative ICC.LBC can be used as a valid method for HT, especially for the possible application of ICC to HN, and it allows a correct preoperative selection of lesions Diagn. Cytopathol. 2011; © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is characterized by hepatocyte damage, inflammatory cell activation, and increased intestinal permeability leading to the clinical manifestations of alcoholic hepatitis. Selected members of the family of microRNAs (miRNAs) are affected by alcohol, resulting in an abnormal miRNA profile in the liver and circulation in ALD. Increasing evidence suggests that miRNAs that regulate inflammation, lipid metabolism and promote cancer are affected by excessive alcohol administration in mouse models of ALD. This communication highlights recent findings in miRNA expression and functions as they relate to the pathogenesis of ALD. The cell‐specific distribution of miRNAs, as well as the significance of circulating extracellular miRNAs, is discussed as potential biomarkers. Finally, the prospects of miRNA‐based therapies are evaluated in ALD.

To examine the combined hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic effects of cadmium and ethanol, rats maintained on an ethanol containing liquid diet (5% w/w) were given cadmium either acutely (3 x 1 mg/kg IP) or subacutely (about 14 mg/kg/day PO for 6 weeks). Parameters tested were cadmium, zinc and copper contents of blood and various organs, metallothionein (MT) contents, polysome profile of liver and kidneys, serum SDH and GPT levels and creatinine clearance. Ethanol reduced the hepatic MT contents without altering the polysome profile and the zinc and copper contents. Cadmium on the other hand raised the MT contents in liver and kidneys. This effect of cadmium predominated in the combined treatment. Morphological examination and functional tests (SDH, GPT, creatinine clearance) indicate that cadmium does not enhance the toxic effects of ethanol, and vice versa.