Cyclamate intake and cyclohexylamine excretion are not related to male fertility in humans

Cyclamate and its metabolite cyclohexylamine affect male fertility in high dose animal studies, but this affect has not been investigated in epidemiological studies. This paper reports the first epidemiological study designed to investigate the possibility of a relationship between cyclamate and cyclohexylamine and male fertility in humans, in which 405 cases of clinically defined infertility in men and 379 controls were surveyed. Semen evaluation, urine analysis for cyclamate and cyclohexylamine and dietary questionnaires were compared between cases and controls. No evidence was found of a significant association between cyclamate intake and male infertility; neither high cyclamate nor high cyclohexylamine excretion were associated with elevated risk. The lack of association remained after adjusting by age, area of residence, education, total energy intake and other variables. No significant correlations were observed between cyclamate intake, metabolism or excretion, and sperm count and motility. The results demonstrate no effect of cyclamate or cyclohexylamine on male fertility at the present levels of cyclamate consumption.     

Autosensitized Photooxidation of the Rose Hip (Wild Rose) Oil - Mechanism and Quantum Yield for Singlet Molecular Oxygen O2 (1 Δg) Generation

The autosensitized photooxidation of the fatty acid components of rose hip (Wild Rose) oil was studied. Two important facts arise from the present investigation: a) Fatty acids of rose hip oil decompose upon visible light irradiation in the absence of external sensitizers by a mechanism that involves O₂(¹Δ_g). The pigments present in rose hip oil themselves efficiently sensitize the generation of O₂(¹Δ_g) with a quantum yield of 0.038 (upper limit). b) Visible irradiation also produces the degradation of the anthocyanines, native pigments which could behave as O₂(¹Δ_g) sensitizers in the oil. In this case a mechanism involving the production of superoxide ions by the pigment and further attack of the radicals on the phenol groups of the anthocyanine could account for the observed experimental evidences. These results should be carefully considered in a practical sense when rose hip oil is stored or employed under daylight conditions. Exposure to visible radiation may cause irreversible transformations in rose hip oil.     

Hybrid optical-digital method for local-displacement analysis by use of a phase-space representation

A method for evaluating the local deformation or displacement of an object in speckle metrology is described. The local displacements of the object in one direction are digitally coded in a one-dimensional specklegram. By optically performing the local spectrum of this pattern, one simultaneously achieves information about the local displacement and its spatial position. The good performance of this technique is demonstrated with computer-generated test signals.     

A simplified broadband coupling approach applied to chemically robust sol-gel, planar integrated optical waveguides

A new generation waveguide spectrometer with broadband coupling capabilities has been developed. As opposed to previous devices, this attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectrometer is much simpler in design, is more chemically robust, and transmits light down to at least 400 nm. The attenuated total reflection element consists of a single-mode, planar integrated optical waveguide fabricated by dip-coating a approximately 300 nm thick, sol-gel composite layer on a glass substrate. A commercially available prism is used as the incoupler with an integral holographic diffraction grating acting as the dispersive outcoupling element. The transmission of narrow band-pass filters was used to compare the response of the waveguide spectrometer to that of a conventional transmission instrument. Spectral resolution was assessed by measuring the fwhm of various laser lines, which were found to range from 0.5 to 1.3 nm. The measured limits of detection for the waveguide spectrometer from 400 to 600 nm are 8.0 and 10.1 milliabsorbance units for TE and TM polarizations, respectively. Finally, to demonstrate the application of this technology to a molecular film confined to a solid-liquid interface, visible ATR spectra of an adsorbed submonolayer of horse heart cytochrome c were acquired. A procedure to correct the waveguide spectra for the wavelength dependence in ATR path length is described.     

Application of a sensorial response model to the design of an oral liquid pharmaceutical dosage form

In this paper, we discuss the application of a compartmental model to study the sensorial response, in terms of taste intensity versus time, in an oral solution for pharmaceutical use. The numerical model was developed from sensorial response curves obtained by a panel of three trained individuals. Parameter identification was carried out by means of a least-squares procedure that obtained the linear coefficients in the model by solving an exact linear least-squares problem conditional on the values of the nonlinear parameters for each iteration. Thus, nonlinear estimation was done in terms of the first-order kinetic parameters only, and ill-conditioning of the Hessian matrix present in these models was solved. Results of modeling for a set of formulations were used to determine the effects of various ingredients (sweeteners and an essence) on a baseline unflavored formulation of acetaminophen in a mixture of cosolvents. The first moment of the area under the curve of taste intensity versus time was found to be the best global indicator of taste for the purpose of product design. It was found that a mixture of sweeteners and an essence was the most efficient way of masking the bitter taste of this active ingredient.     

Desipramine restricts estral cycle oscillations in swimming

1. Desipramine (DMI) is a tricyclic antidepressant which reduces the immobility in rats forced to swim; however, it is unknown whether estral cycle phases impinge on DMI actions on immobility in daily swimming tests during several weeks. 2. In female wistar rats, vaginal smears taken before testing defined four estral phases. Afterwards, the authors assessed the latency for the first period of immobility in five-min forced swim tests practiced on 21-day DMI (DMI group), 21-day washout saline given after a 21-day DMI treatment (washout-saline group), or non-treated rats (control group). 3. We observed a longer latency for the first period of immobility in proestrus-estrus from the control and washout-saline groups. The 21-day treatment with DMI (2.1 mg/kg i.p., once a day) significantly (p < 0.001) increased the latency by about 160% from control regardless of the estral cycle phase. 4. It is concluded that proestrus-estrus relates to increased struggling behavior. DMI enhances struggling behavior independently of hormonal state.     

Melatonin receptors mediate contraction of a rat cerebral artery

Melatonin receptors are expressed in the cerebral arteries of the rat which form the circle of Willis. We report here that melatonin induces contraction of in vitro preparations of pressurized rat posterior communicating artery, in a concentration-dependent manner. This action of melatonin is inhibited by S-20928, a specific melatonin receptor antagonist. Our results demonstrate that the contractile action of melatonin is mediated by its receptors in the cerebral artery, and suggest a role for melatonin in the regulation of cerebral circulation.     

Anatomical distribution of heavy metals in the scallop Pecten maximus

This paper studied the anatomical distribution of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in the scallop Pecten maximus and the possible implications in terms of shellfish management. Six organs were analysed: mantle, gills, foot, digestive gland, kidney and gonad. On the basis of their anatomical distribution, two groups of metals were able to be distinguished: the first included Pb, Hg, Ni, Zn and Ag; and the second comprised the four other metals studied. The metals in the first group preferentially accumulated in the kidney (except for Pb), with generally much lower concentrations in the other organs. The metals in the second group accumulated mainly in the digestive gland. As and Cu were included in the second group, but they also had particular inter-organ distribution characteristics. Among the edible organs of the scallop only the adductor muscle contained important proportions of one metal, As (which is very likely accumulated as a non-toxic derivative). A selective evisceration of the metal rich non-edible organs may therefore be considered a reliable measure to be taken with a view to reduce the metal content of scallops used for human consumption. This could be especially relevant for Cd, which is accumulated in high concentrations in the digestive gland.