Natural product antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as promising agents against the Leishmania species, insect vector borne protozoan parasites causing the neglected tropical disease leishmaniasis. However, recent studies have shown that the mammalian pathogenic amastigote form of L. mexicana, a causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis, is resistant to the amphibian-derived tempo...

PURPOSE To determine the expression patterns of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in the pterygopalatine ganglion (PPG) and the exorbital lacrimal gland of normal mice. METHODS Mouse PPG and lacrimal glands were processed for single- and double-labeled indirect immunofluorescence studies. Slides were examined w...

Photoplethysmography is a non-invasive electro-optical technique widely used in the study and monitoring of the pulsations associated with changes in blood volume in a peripheral vascular bed. Photoplethysmography is used in the estimation of arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) by pulse oximetry. A reflectance finger photoplethysmographic (PPG) probe and a multiplexed data acquisition system oper...

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a useful clinical tool for autonomic function assessment and cardiovascular diseases diagnosis. It is traditionally calculated from a dedicated medical electrocardiograph (ECG). In this paper, we demonstrate that HRV can also be extracted from photoplethysmograms (PPG) obtained by the camera of a smartphone. Sixteen HRV parameters, including time-domain, frequenc...

Left ventricular ejection time (LVET) is a useful measure of ventricular performance and preload. The present study explores a novel method of continuous LVET monitoring using a noninvasive finger photoplethysmographic pulse oximetry waveform (PPG-POW). A method for the automatic beat-to-beat detection of LVET from the finger PPG-POW is presented based on a combination of derivative analysis, w...

Splanchnic organs are particularly vulnerable to hypoperfusion. Currently, there is no technique that allows for the continuous estimation of splanchnic blood oxygen saturation (SpO(2)). As a preliminary to developing a suitable splanchnic SpO(2) sensor, a new reflectance fiber optic photoplethysmographic (PPG) sensor and processing system are developed. An experimental procedure to examine the...

BACKGROUND Glycemic control in diabetes mellitus is a cornerstone in reducing morbidity and mortality of the disease. Achieving glycemic control or reducing hyperglycemia significantly decreases the microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes. Even though measurement of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) remains the gold standard for assessment of glycemic control, there is no consensus ...

Incidence of human epilepsy in infants and children is high and prolonged seizures in the early developmental period can cause brain damage and lead to serious consequences later in the life. The present study was aimed to investigate potential protective effect of (R, S)-4-phosphonophenylglycine ((R, S)-PPG), a potent and selective group III mGluR agonist, on brain damage associated with homoc...

We investigated the effect of aging on the level of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1) in healthy subjects and diabetic patients. On the basis of our findings in this study, and using the HbA1c level as an index to long-term plasma glucose control, we compared it with the levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and post-prandial plasma glucose (PPG) in different age groups subjected to different the...