|
| ||
|
|
||
Biological Endpoints (biological + endpoint)
Selected AbstractsNon-invasive in vivo determination of UVA efficacy of sunscreens using diffuse reflectance spectroscopyPHOTODERMATOLOGY, PHOTOIMMUNOLOGY & PHOTOMEDICINE, Issue 4 2003R. Gillies Background: Evaluation of sunscreen efficacy is most relevant when measured on the surface it is meant to protect, namely on human skin in vivo. Application of any material to the surface of the skin alters its optical properties. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a non-invasive technique to measure changes in the optical properties of the skin decoupled from its biological responses following sunscreen application. Methods: This study compared measurements of UVA efficacy of oxybenzone and avobenzone at different concentrations (0,5%) using DRS, human phototest and an in vitro technique. Twenty subjects were enrolled for each product measured by DRS and 10 different subjects were enrolled for each product measured by human phototest. Six areas 5 cm × 10 cm were outlined on each subject's back. DRS measurements were performed on four subsites within each area before and 20 min after sunscreen application. UVA efficacy for each concentration of product was calculated from the measured transmission spectrum of a given product convoluted with the spectrum of a Xenon light source adequately filtered to obtain the UVA spectrum from 320 to 400 nm and the erythema action spectrum. Phototesting was performed using the same light source and persistent pigment darkening as the biological endpoint. Measurements were made with sunscreen coverage of 2 mg/cm2. In vitro measurements were performed using an Optometrics instrument. Results: All three techniques showed a linear response between calculated UVA efficacy and product concentration. Conclusions: This study showed that DRS is a rapid and reproducible method to calculate UVA efficacy of sunscreen materials and that its results correlate closely with those obtained by human phototesting. [source] Evaluating the contribution of soil properties to modifying lead phytoavailability and phytotoxicity,ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2006Elizabeth A. Dayton Abstract Soil properties affect Pb bioavailability to human and ecological receptors and should be considered during ecological risk assessment of contaminated soil. We used path analysis (PA) to determine the relative contribution of soil properties (pH, organic C [OC], amorphous Fe and Al oxides [FEAL], and cation-exchange capacity [CEC]) in modifying Pb bioavailability. The response of biological endpoints (bioaccumulation and dry matter growth [DMG]) of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) grown on 21 Pb-spiked (2,000 mg/kg) soils were determined. Lettuce tissue Pb ranged from 3.22 to 233 mg/kg, and relative DMG ranged from 2.5 to 88.5% of their respective controls. Simple correlation showed strong relationships between CEC and OC (p < 0.01) and weaker relationships between pH and FEAL (p < 0.05) and Pb bioaccumulation. Results of PA suggest that soil pH increased the negative surface charge of organic matter and clay, thereby increasing CEC and decreasing Pb bioaccumulation. Also, the direct effect of OC on tissue Pb can be attributed to formation of surface Pb complexes by organic matter functional group ligands. Increased OC and/or CEC reduced Pb solubility and bioavailability in the 21 soils in the present study. The relative importance of soil properties likely will vary between studies employing different soils. Soil properties should be considered during the ecological risk assessment of metal in contaminated soils. Path analysis is useful for ecological studies involving soils with a wide range of physicochemical properties and can assist in site risk assessment of metals and remediation decisions on contaminated sites. [source] The role of monitored natural recovery in sediment remediationINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2006Victor S Magar Abstract The long-term goal of monitored natural recovery (MNR) is to achieve ecological recovery of biological endpoints in order to protect human and ecological health. Insofar as ecological recovery is affected by surface-sediment-contaminant concentrations, the primary recovery processes for MNR are natural sediment burial and contaminant transformation and weathering to less toxic forms. This paper discusses the overall approach for effective implementation of MNR for contaminated sediment sites. Several lines of evidence that may be used to demonstrate natural recovery processes are summarized, including documentation of source control; evidence of contaminant burial; measurement of surface sediment mixing depths and the active sediment benthic layer; measurement of sediment stability; contaminant transformation and weathering; modeling sediment transport, contaminant transport, and ecological recovery; measuring ecological recovery and long-term risk reduction; knowledge of future plans for use and development of the site; and watershed and institutional controls. In general, some form of natural recovery is expected and should be included as part of a remedy at virtually all contaminated sediment sites. Further, MNR investigations and an understanding of natural recovery processes provide cost-effective information and support the evaluation of more aggressive remedies such as capping, dredging, and the use of novel amendments. The risk of dredging or capping may be greater than the risk of leaving sediments in place at sites where capping or dredging offer little long-term environmental gain but pose significant short-term risks for workers, local communities, and the environment. [source] Present and future therapeutic strategies for idiopathic oligozoospermiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANDROLOGY, Issue 6 2000Dimitrios A. Adamopoulos The effectiveness of medical treatment for idiopathic oligozoospermia (IO) has been at best doubtful until now and a logical consequence of this unsatisfactory situation has been the partial displacement of this approach by assisted reproduction techniques. This state of affairs has resulted from insufficient investigation, inappropriately designed clinical trials and consistent disregard for the principles of evidence-based medicine. Protocol-related shortcomings and wrong interpretation of the data available have also been some of the all too frequent problems encountered in this therapeutic approach. In this rather misty situation, it appears that, of the therapeutic agents used so far, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (mainly FSH-secretagogues) may exert some beneficial effects on a number of biological endpoints related to spermatogenesis and sperm maturation. The short and medium term prospects of medical treatment for IO rest mainly with improvement of investigative procedures to a higher degree of sophistication, with emphasis placed on identifying the causes rather than the results of dysfunction so that a better selection of candidates can be made. Moreover, the introduction of prognostic indices for evaluation of the beneficial effects of a therapeutic agent may be of paramount importance. Finally, a better assessment of the preparations available and, possibly, the introduction of new more specific agents may also be an important step forward in this field. This type of large-scale effort should not be left to individual investigators or special centres working independently, but it may come under the auspices of a central regulating agency so that undisputed results from large, multicentre and uniform studies might be obtained, if medical treatment is to remain a good option. In this context, it may also be emphasized that andrology's main task should always be to treat the male with the problem rather than his healthy female partner, whenever this is possible. [source] Reduced gap junctional intercellular communication and altered biological effects in mouse osteoblast and rat liver oval cell lines transfected with dominant-negative connexin 43MOLECULAR CARCINOGENESIS, Issue 4 2003Brad L. Upham Abstract Gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) maintains normal growth and differentiation of cells in a tissue. The intercellular molecules traversing gap junctions are largely unknown, but the molecular weight (MW) cutoff is normally 1200 Da. No differences in dye transfer were observed in normal or vector controls of WB-F344 rat liver epithelial or mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells with either Lucifer Yellow (LY) with a MW of 457 Da (LY-457) or LY with a MW of 649 Da (LY-649). Transfection of a dominant negative-connexin 43 (Cx43) gene decreased GJIC (>50%) when LY-649 was used, however, normal GJIC was observed in both cell lines when LY-457 was used. Therefore, the MW cut off in these clones was considerably less than the wild type. The dominant negative clones of the MC3T3-E1 cells exhibited over 90% less alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity and calcium deposition after the induction of differentiation. Similarly, dominant negative Cx43 inhibited gene expression of ALPase and bone sialoprotein but not osteocalcin in MC3T3-E1. WB-F344 cells normally exhibit a biphasic response to 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) where inhibition of GJIC recovers after 2 h, but the dominant negative clones showed no recovery from inhibition of GJIC by TPA. Dominant negative Cx43 also inhibited the formation of network-like structures by WB-F344 cells on Matrigel. These results demonstrate that the dominant negative gene transfected into cell types containing the wild-type connexins result in diminished channel sizes, thus allowing the determination of whether distinct biological endpoints, i.e., differentiation, are dependent upon either small or high MW intercellular signals. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||