Eudesmol isomers induce caspase-mediated apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells.

Eudesmols are naturally occurring sesquiterpenoid alcohols that present cytotoxic effect to cancer cells. Herein, all eudesmol isomers displayed cytotoxicity to different tumour cell lines. α-Eudesmol showed IC₅₀ values ranging from 5.

Histopathological findings of an uncommon co-infection: Echinococcus vogeli, HIV, hepatitis C virus, and hepatitis B virus.

Our work represents the first case report of polycystic echinococcosis co-infection with HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV). Structural liver alterations were found to be related to parasitic structures and necroinflammatory foci (karyopyknosis, karyorrhexis, and karyolysis), consistent with Echinococcus vogeli. Visceral adipose tissue and intrahepatic triglyceride droplets (macrovesicular and microvesicular steatosis) indicated abnormal fat anabolism, which probably resulted from both viral-induced hepatopathy and drug-related toxicity.

Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activity of epiisopiloturine, an imidazole alkaloid isolated from Pilocarpus microphyllus.

The aim of this study was to investigate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of epiisopiloturine (1), an imidazole alkaloid found in the leaves of Pilocarpus microphyllus. The anti-inflammatory activity of 1 was evaluated using several agents that induce paw edema and peritonitis in Swiss mice. Paw tissue and peritoneal fluid samples were obtained to determine myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity or tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β levels.

Immunologic response and proviral load in human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 infected individuals with erectile dysfunction.

Objective: To evaluate the immune response and proviral load in individuals with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and erectile dysfunction (ED) compared with those in the controls.

Materials And Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 102 men aged 18-70 years with positive serology for HTLV-1, who were interviewed from 2004 to 2010. The study sample was divided into 2 groups: group 1, 42 HTLV-1-infected men with ED, as determined by the International Index of Erectile Function-5 score; and group 2, 60 HTLV-1-infected men without ED.

Toll-like receptor 6 senses Mycobacterium avium and is required for efficient control of mycobacterial infection.

Mycobacterium avium has been reported to signal through both Toll-like receptor (TLR2) and TLR9. To investigate the role of TLR6 in innate immune responses to M. avium, TLR6, MyD88, TLR2, and TLR2/6 KO mice were infected with this pathogen.

Antioxidant effect of organic purple grape juice on exhaustive exercise.

This study aimed to assess the potential protective effect of organic purple grape juice (PGJ) on oxidative stress produced by an exhaustive exercise bout in rats. To test this hypothesis, rats were acutely treated with organic PGJ (Vitis labrusca) and subsequently submitted to an exhaustive exercise bout. Parameters of oxidative stress, such as thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) levels, 2',7',-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) oxidation, and nonprotein sulfhydryl levels (NP-SH) in the brain, skeletal muscle, and blood, were evaluated.

Wideband dynamic behavioral modeling of reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers using a tapped-delay multilayer perceptron.

In this paper, we propose a wideband dynamic behavioral model for a bulk reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) used as a modulator in colorless radio over fiber (RoF) systems using a tapped-delay multilayer perceptron (TDMLP). 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signals with 20 Msymbol/s were used to train, validate and test the model. Nonlinear distortion and dynamic effects induced by the RSOA modulator are demonstrated.

Cytotoxic effect of leaf essential oil of Lippia gracilis Schauer (Verbenaceae).

Medicinal plants are one of the most important sources of drugs used in the pharmaceutical industry. Among traditional medicinal plants, Lippia gracilis Schauer (Verbenaceae) had been used for several medicinal purposes in Brazilian northeastern. In this study, leaf essential oil (EO) of L.

Growth of the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus CBS 6556 on different sugar combinations as sole carbon and energy source.

The yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus has been pointed out as a promising microorganism for a variety of industrial bioprocesses. Although genetic tools have been developed for this yeast and different potential applications have been investigated, quantitative physiological studies have rarely been reported. Here, we report and discuss the growth, substrate consumption, metabolite formation, and respiratory parameters of K.

Swimming training induces liver mitochondrial adaptations to oxidative stress in rats submitted to repeated exhaustive swimming bouts.

Background And Aims: Although acute exhaustive exercise is known to increase liver reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and aerobic training has shown to improve the antioxidant status in the liver, little is known about mitochondria adaptations to aerobic training. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the aerobic training on oxidative stress markers and antioxidant defense in liver mitochondria both after training and in response to three repeated exhaustive swimming bouts.

Methods: Wistar rats were divided into training (n = 14) and control (n = 14) groups.

A sulfated-polysaccharide fraction from seaweed Gracilaria birdiae prevents naproxen-induced gastrointestinal damage in rats.

Red seaweeds synthesize a great variety of sulfated galactans. Sulfated polysaccharides (PLSs) from seaweed are comprised of substances with pharmaceutical and biomedical potential. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of the PLS fraction extracted from the seaweed Gracilaria birdiae in rats with naproxen-induced gastrointestinal damage.

Spontaneous and experimental intoxication of cattle by Simarouba versicolor A. St.-Hill (Simaroubaceae).

This study describes an outbreak of Simarouba versicolor intoxication in cattle from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and reproduces it experimentally. Clinical signs of the affected animals were weakness, tremors, hind limbs incoordination, reluctance to move, sternal and lateral recumbency and death. The main necropsy findings, observed in the abomasum and in segments of the small and large intestines, were diffuse redness and mucosal and serosal swelling.

Protective action of ethanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis L. in gastric ulcer prevention induced by ethanol in rats.

The pathology of a gastric ulcer is complex and multifactorial. Gastric ulcers affect many people around the world and its development is a result of the imbalance between aggressive and protective factors in the gastric mucosa. In this study, we evaluated the ethanolic extract of Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Effects of intravascular volume replacement on lung and kidney function and damage in nonseptic experimental lung injury.

Background: Intravascular volume replacement is often required in the presence of increased pulmonary capillary leakage, for example in patients with volutrauma with major hemorrhage. In the present study, the effects of Ringer's acetate (RA), gelatin-polysuccinate (GEL), and a modern hydroxyethyl starch (HES, 6% 130/0.42) on lung and kidney function and damage were compared in a two-hit model of acute lung injury.

Case-control study of HLA-G promoter methylation status, HPV infection and cervical neoplasia in Curitiba, Brazil: a pilot analysis.

Background: The causal association between persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer has been established, but the mechanisms that favor HPV persistence in cervical cells are still unknown. The diminished capability of the immune system to control and resolve HPV infection is one of several hypotheses. The tolerogenic protein HLA-G has shown aberrant expression in a variety of cancers, which has been suggested as a mechanism for tumor escape from immunosurveillance.

Cryotherapy reduces skeletal muscle damage after ischemia/reperfusion in rats.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of cryotherapy on the biochemical and morphological changes in ischemic and reperfused (I/R) gastrocnemius muscle of rats. Forty male Wistar rats were divided into control and I/R groups, and divided based on whether or not the rats were submitted to cryotherapy. Following the reperfusion period, biochemical and morphological analyses were performed.

Equine chorionic gonadotropin improves the efficacy of a timed artificial insemination protocol in buffalo during the nonbreeding season.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) treatment on ovarian follicular response, luteal function, and pregnancy in buffaloes subjected to a timed artificial insemination (TAI) protocol during the nonbreeding season. In experiment 1, 59 buffalo cows were randomly assigned to two groups (with and without eCG). On the first day of the synchronization protocol (Day 0), cows received an intravaginal progesterone (P4) device plus 2.

MBL serum concentration in women with HPV presenting CIN III lesions.

Purpose: This study proposes to assess MBL serum concentrations in HPV positive women that developed high risk preinvasive lesions, CIN III.

Materials And Methods: A total of 90 consecutive women (mean age 32.2 years, range 18-45 years) with CIN III lesions confirmed by cone biopsy were enrolled as cases at the gynecology cancer department of the Erasto Gaertner Hospital, a center of reference for cancer treatment in Southern Brazil.

Prevalence and risk factors for cervical HPV infection and abnormalities in young adult women at enrolment in the multinational PATRICIA trial.

Objective: We evaluated baseline data from the PApilloma TRIal against Cancer In young Adults (PATRICIA; NCT00122681) on the association between behavioral risk factors and HPV infection and cervical abnormalities.

Methods: Women completed behavioral questionnaires at baseline. Prevalence of HPV infection and cervical abnormalities (detected by cytological or histological procedures) and association with behavioral risk factors were analyzed by univariate and stepwise multivariable logistic regressions.

Cytogenetics of Synbranchiformes: a comparative analysis of two Synbranchus Bloch, 1795 species from the Amazon.

Synbranchidae belongs to the Synbranchiformes and occurs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Mexico, and Central and South America. This family comprises four genera: Synbranchus, Ophisternon, Monopterus, and Macrotrema. Only two are known from the neotropical region, Ophisternon and Synbranchus.

Genome-wide expression analysis upon constitutive activation of the HacA bZIP transcription factor in Aspergillus niger reveals a coordinated cellular response to counteract ER stress.

Background: HacA/Xbp1 is a conserved bZIP transcription factor in eukaryotic cells which regulates gene expression in response to various forms of secretion stress and as part of secretory cell differentiation. In the present study, we replaced the endogenous hacA gene of an Aspergillus niger strain with a gene encoding a constitutively active form of the HacA transcription factor (HacACA). The impact of constitutive HacA activity during exponential growth was explored in bioreactor controlled cultures using transcriptomic analysis to identify affected genes and processes.

Comparative effects of proportional assist and variable pressure support ventilation on lung function and damage in experimental lung injury.

Objective: To investigate the effects of proportional assist ventilation, variable pressure support, and conventional pressure support ventilation on lung function and damage in experimental acute lung injury.

Design: : Randomized experimental study.

Setting: University hospital research facility.

[Left ventricular assist device in a five-year-old child: a bridge to recovery in a case of viral myocarditis].

Introduction: Viral myocarditis can lead to heart failure that is refractory to medication. In these cases, a ventricular assist device is a good therapeutic option that can be used as a bridge to transplantation or recovery. We describe the first case in Portugal of recovery with ventricular assistance after severe myocarditis.

Is there a role for cervicography in the detection of premalignant lesions of the uterine cervix?: a Brazilian experience.

Objective: This study aimed to compare cervical cancer screening by cervicography with screening by Pap test.

Materials And Methods: This was a comparative multicenter study of cervical cytology and cervicography. The cervicography (slides of the cervix) was taken after the Pap test was completed.

Short implant to support maxillary restorations: bone stress analysis using regular and switching platform.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate stress distribution on peri-implant bone simulating the influence of implants with different lengths on regular and switching platforms in the anterior maxilla by means of three-dimensional finite element analysis.

Materials And Methods: Four mathematical models of a central incisor supported by an external hexagon implant (diameter, 5.0 mm) were created, varying the length (15.