Asbestos Exposure

 Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral.It was once used in thousands of consumer, industrial and construction products. For nearly five thousand years, people have recognized the desirable properties of asbestos.   Unfortunately, for nearly as long, its dangers have also been in evidence.  Asbestos exposure has been linked to various cancers, the most notable being mesothelioma. The National Cancer Institute suggests that there is no safe level of Asbestos exposure. The most common disease it causes are Mesothelioma ,lung cancer , asbestosis and gastrointestinal cancer.

This “silent killer” often remains hidden.It may in our homes, schools or offices, asbestos potentially could be lurking everywhere. It’s important that we remind the public about this unseen danger and help victims of asbestos-related diseases.

Glucose transporters and insulin action--implications for insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus.

The chemical composition of pectin production wastewater and its toxicity during biological treatment were investigated. Samples of wastewater from different steps of a pectin production wastewater biological treatment plant were investigated including the influent of the treatment (1), after denitrification tank (2), after anaerobic treatment (3) and final effluent (4). The conventional physicochemical characteristics of samples did not indicate wastewater toxicity. However, toxicity assessments carried out on Vibrio fischeri and Scenedesmus subspicatus indicated low EC50 values. The fractionation of the samples using an XAD resin showed that the toxicity was associated with the organic matter. Wastewater apparent molecular mass distributions were 14.3, 25.0, 24.4 and 29.6 kDa for samples 1-4, respectively. Finally, characteristics of the sample by pyrolisis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-CG-MS) demonstrated its polyphenolic nature and a 23% increase in the levels of such compounds after the first biological treatment step.

New model of diabetes mellitus

Streptozotocin-induced pancreatic insulitis

Multiple small injections of streptozotocin in mice produce pancreatic insulitis, with progression to nearly complete beta cell destruction and diabetes mellitus. The timing and appearance of the inflammatory islet lesions suggest but do not prove that streptozotocin acts by initiating a cell-mediated immune reaction. Ultrastructural evidence of abundant type C viruses within beta cells of treated mice suggests that streptozotocin may activate murine leukemia virus in vivo in susceptible hosts.