Bioactive eremophilanolides from Senecio poepigii.

A new bioactive eremophilanolide, 1alpha-tigloyloxy-8betaH,10betaH-eremophil-7(11)-en-8alpha,12-olide, was isolated from Senecio poepigii and its structure was elucidated by spectral analysis. 1alpha-Angeloyloxy-8beta-methoxy-10betaH-eremophil-7(11)-en-8alpha,12-olide was also isolated. Antifungal and insect antifeedant properties were evaluated.

The transcription factors Slug and Snail act as repressors of Claudin-1 expression in epithelial cells.

Claudin-1 is an integral membrane protein component of tight junctions. The Snail family of transcription factors are repressors that play a central role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, a process that occurs during cancer progression. Snail and Slug members are direct repressors of E-cadherin and act by binding to the specific E-boxes of its proximal promoter.

[Possibility of cauda equina nerve root damage from lumbar punctures performed with 25-gauge Quincke and Whitacre needles].

Objective: To assess the possibility of puncturing nerve roots in the cauda equina with spinal needles with different point designs and to quantify the number of axons affected.

Material And Methods: We performed in vitro punctures of human nerve roots taken from 3 fresh cadavers. Twenty punctures were performed with 25-gauge Whitacre needles and 40 with 25-gauge Quincke needles; half the Quincke needle punctures were carried out with the point perpendicular to the root and the other half with the point parallel to it.

Nerve stimulation in regional anesthesia: theory and practice.

There is now an accumulation of extensive and varied experience with the use of electrical stimulation for verifying the close approximation of needle and nerve, and for increasing the corresponding success rate. The application of this experience has been of proven benefit in the teaching of regional anesthetic techniques, in the performing of difficult nerve blocks, and in the use of novel accesses, resulting in decreased morbidity and a reduced requirement for local anesthetic. Nerve stimulation can also be used in uncooperative patients and in anesthetized individuals or patients under the effects of CNS depressors, although the risk of intraneural injection of local anesthetic is not eliminated in such cases.

Bioactive cinchona alkaloids from Remijia peruviana.

Three known Cinchona alkaloids of the quinine type, quinine (1), cupreine (2), cinchonine (3), and the possible artifact cinchonine-HCl (3-HCl), along with two new ones, acetylcupreine (4) and N-ethylquinine (5), have been isolated from the bark of Remijia peruviana (Rubiaceae). Their stereochemical structures were established by high resolution NMR spectroscopy. Alkaloids 2-4 had antifeedant effects on Leptinotarsa decemlineata with varying potencies.

In vitro activity of C20-diterpenoid alkaloid derivatives in promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania infantum.

The in vitro anti-proliferative effects are described of several atisine-type diterpenoid alkaloids against the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, which causes human visceral leishmaniasis and canine leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean basin, as well as human cutaneous leishmaniasis throughout the Mediterranean region. From a total of 43 compounds tested, including C19- and C20-diterpene alkaloids from several chemical classes, only 15,22-O-diacetyl-19-oxo-dihydroatisine, azitine and isoazitine were highly active against cultures of the parasite (promastigote form) with IC50 values within the range of the reference drug pentamidine-isothionate (7.39-12.

Human adipose tissue as a source of Flk-1+ cells: new method of differentiation and expansion.

Objective: The low number of postnatal endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) in the circulation limits their therapeutic application in cardiovascular medicine. Processed lipoaspirate (PLA) cells differentiate into osteoid, adipose, muscle, and cartilaginous cells. This study examines the potential of PLA cells as a source of EPCs.

Prevention of external ventricular drain--related ventriculitis.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test if a reduction of external ventricular drains (EVD) related ventriculitis could be achieved by a strict protocol of care and if protocol violation was associated with a higher incidence of EVD-related ventriculitis.

Methods: A written protocol for EVD insertion, nursing and surveillance was implemented. A retrospective comparison of EVD-related ventriculitis incidence was performed between control (161 EVD in 131 patients) and study periods (216 EVD in 175 patients).

Influence of cytoplasmic deletions on the filopodia-inducing effect of syndecan-3.

Syndecans, transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG), mediate cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion thereby controlling cell movement and shape. Syndecan cytoplasmic domains are very short (ca. 30 amino acids) and divided into two constant regions (C1 and C2) separated by one variable (V) region.

Structural diversity and defensive properties of norditerpenoid alkaloids.

We have tested the insect antifeedant and toxic activity of 43 norditerpenoid alkaloids on Spodoptera littoralis and Leptinotarsa decemlineata including eserine (physostigmine), anabasine, and atropine. Antifeedant effects of the test compounds were structure- and species-dependent. The most active antifeedants to L.

[Origin of spinal subdural hematomas: a postmortem anatomical study].

Objective: Although the mechanism by which cranial subdural hematomas form is known, the formation of spinal subdural hematomas is less clearly defined. The aim of this study was to identify vessels that can be found in the dural sac and whose rupture might lead to the formation of spinal subdural hematomas.

Material And Method: The dura mater, subdural space, and the arachnoid mater were studied in samples of dural sac taken from the eleventh thoracic vertebra to the fifth lumbar vertebra.

Effects of interleukin-12 administration during the pre- and peri-implantation period on mouse embryofetal development.

Problem: The immunological success of pregnancy is thought to depend upon the establishment of a balance between favorable and deleterious cytokines, the current paradigm viewing pregnancy as a T helper (Th)2 cytokine-dependent phenomenon. In this context, a particular attention should be directed to the potential role of interleukin (IL)-12, which promotes the development of Th1 responses, in the induction of adverse pregnancy-related phenomena. Indeed, very few data linked the Th1-inducer IL-12 to the event of abortion.

Dura-arachnoid lesions produced by 22 gauge Quincke spinal needles during a lumbar puncture.

Aims: The dural and arachnoid hole caused by lumbar puncture needles is a determining factor in triggering headaches. The aim of this study is to assess the dimensions and morphological features of the dura mater and arachnoids when they are punctured by a 22 gauge Quincke needle having its bevel either in the parallel or in the transverse position.

Methods: Fifty punctures were made with 22 gauge Quincke needles in the dural sac of four fresh cadavers using an "in vitro" model especially designed for this purpose.

Ultrastructural findings in human spinal pia mater in relation to subarachnoid anesthesia.

Unlabelled: We examined ultrastructural details such as the cellular component and membrane thickness of human spinal pia mater with the aim of determining whether fenestrations are present. We hypothesized that pia mater is not a continuous membrane but, instead, that there are fenestrations across the pial cellular membrane. The lumbar dural sac from 7 fresh human cadavers was removed, and samples from lumbar spinal pia mater were studied by special staining techniques, immunohistochemistry, and transmission and scanning electron microscopy.

[Intracranial and spinal subdural hematoma: a rare complication of epidural and subarachnoid anesthesia].

Subdural and epidural hematomas complicating central blocks are rare but serious complications that can lead to permanent neurological deficits. This review discusses cranial and spinal subdural hematomas, including the history of this complication in the literature. Theories to explain the mechanisms by which hematomas are formed are presented and risk factors are analyzed.

[Citizens opinions, experiences and perceptions about waiting lists for elective cataract surgery and hip and knee replacement. ].

Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe the views, perceptions and personal experience around elective cataract and hip and knee replacement waiting lists in Catalonia in order to improve their management.

Design: Qualitative methodology: four focus groups for each procedure.

Place: Conducted between February-March 2000 at the Catalan Health Services headquarters.

Four illudane sesquiterpenes from Coprinopsis episcopalis.

Four new illudane derivatives with antibiotic and cytotoxic properties, illudins I (1), I(2) (2), J (3) and J(2) (4), have been isolated from the fungus Coprinopsis episcopalis (syn. Coprinus episcopalis). These sesquiterpenes are stereoisomers, and their relative structures have been determined taking into consideration 2D NMR data.

Anaesthesia for carotid endarterectomy: comparison of hypnotic- and opioid-based techniques.

Background: Although the synergistic interaction between hypnotics and opioids for total i.v. anaesthesia has been repeatedly demonstrated, questions about different dose combinations of hypnotics and opioids remain.

Syndecan-2 expression enhances adhesion and proliferation of stably transfected Swiss 3T3 cells.

Syndecans (heparan sulfate proteoglycans) participate in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion and are co- and low-affinity receptors for growth factors and enzymes, respectively. We examined the influence of stable syndecan-2 expression in Swiss 3T3 cells on cell-adhesion and proliferation. Higher syndecan-2 expression changed cell morphology and increased spreading and adhesion in these cells and proliferation induced by FCS and FGF-2.

Erythropoietin protects the in vitro blood-brain barrier against VEGF-induced permeability.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) ensures the homeostasis of the brain microenvironment, mostly through complex tight junctions between brain endothelial cells that prevent the passage of hydrophilic molecules from blood to brain and vice versa. A recent study has shown in vivo that systemic administration of erythropoietin (Epo) protects against brain injury. Using an in vitro model of the bovine BBB, we observed that the expression of the Epo receptor is modulated by its ligand and hypoxic stimuli such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment.

Rhoiptelenol and rhoiptelenone, two pentacyclic triterpenes from Sideritis macrostachya.

The pentacyclic triterpenes rhoiptelenol and rhoiptelenone have been isolated from Sideritis macrostachya. Rhoiptelenone is a new natural compound, whose structure has been determined as D:B-friedo-urs-5-en-3-one. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra of rhoiptelenol, rhoiptelenol acetate and glutinol have been reassigned.

[Travelling immigrants].

Objectives: To characterise travelling immigrants and the international movements they undertake. To identify the risk journeys that this population makes and to assess the international preventive activities for them compared with those for autochthonous travellers.

Design: Retrospective, observational study.

Neutralization of measles virus infectivity and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity activity against an Epstein-Barr virus-infected cell line by intravenous immunoglobulin G [corrected].

Patients with antibody deficiency disorders are highly susceptible to microbial infections. Intravenous (i.v.