Genotoxicity and maternal-fetal safety of the dried extract of leaves of Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae) in Wistar rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae), popularly known as "neem", is used for the treatment of rheumatism, cancer, ulcers, diabetes, respiratory problems, among others. This species is present on six continents and contains more than 400 bioactive compounds.

Tissue healing changes on wounds in rats after treatment with Hancornia speciosa latex in cream-gel formulation.

Purpose: Hancornia speciosa latex has shown pharmacological potential in wound healing processes due to its angiogenic, osteogenic, and anti-inflammatory activities. The aims of this study were to carry out a cream-gel formulation with 5, 10 and 25% of H. speciosa serum latex and to evaluate its potential to stimulate the skin regeneration in rats' wounds.

Cytotoxicity and maternal toxicity attributed to exposure to L. (Cucurbitaceae) dry leaf extract.

L. (Cucurbitaceae), popularly known as "bitter melon" or "bitter gourd," is a climbing plant well-adapted to tropical countries. This plant is used traditionally to treat several conditions including diabetes mellitus, inflammation, liver dysfunctions, and cancer.

Can Previous Levels of Physical Activity Affect Risk Factors for Cardiorespiratory Diseases and Functional Capacity after COVID-19 Hospitalization? A Prospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of previous levels of physical activity on hemodynamic, vascular, ventilatory, and functional outcomes after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hospitalization.

Methods: Sixty-three individuals with COVID-19 had their clinical status and previous levels (12 month) of physical activity (Baecke Questionnaire of Habitual Physical Activity) assessed at hospital admission. Individuals were then allocated to lower levels of physical activity (ACT; = 22), intermediate levels of physical activity (ACT; = 22), or higher levels of physical activity (ACT; = 19) groups, according to tertiles of physical activity.

Alcohol Deprivation Differentially Changes Alcohol Intake in Female and Male Rats Depending on Early-Life Stressful Experience.

Experiencing early-life adverse events has enduring effects on individual vulnerability to alcohol abuse and the development of addiction-related behaviors. In rodents, it can be studied using maternal separation (MS) stress. Studies have shown that, depending on the protocol used, MS can affect the mother and pups' behavior and are associated with behavioral alterations later in adulthood, associated with both positive or negative outcomes.

Prescribing and Self-Regulating Heated Water-Based Exercise by Rating of Perceived Exertion in Older Individuals With Hypertension.

We aimed to analyze the usefulness of the 6-20 rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale for prescribing and self-regulating high-intensity interval (HIIE) and moderate-intensity continuous (MICE) aerobic exercise performed in a heated swimming pool (32 °C). Fifteen older individuals (65 ± 3 years) treated for hypertension underwent a symptom-limited maximal graded exercise test to determine their heart rate at anaerobic threshold, and respiratory compensation point. On different days, participants were randomized to HIIE (walking/jogging between 11 and 17 of RPE; 25 min) and MICE (walking at 11-13 of RPE; 30 min).

Determinants of endothelial dysfunction in noncritically ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify determinants of endothelial dysfunction in patients hospitalized with acute COVID-19.

Methods: A total of 109 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in noncritical status were cross-sectionally studied. Clinical data (age, sex, comorbidities, and medications) and BMI were assessed.

Hemodynamic response to exercise is impaired in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess hemodynamic and cardiac autonomic response to high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) versus moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Twelve individuals (six men) with PD were randomly assigned to perform HIIE (4 min of warm-up followed by 21 min alternating 1 min at levels 15-17 with 2 min at levels 9-11 of rating of perceived exertion [RPE] in a cycle ergometer), MICE (4 min of warm-up followed by 26 min at levels 11-14 of RPE in a cycle ergometer) and control (CON; 30 min of sitting rest) interventions in separate days. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), endothelial reactivity and heart rate variability (HRV) were assessed before, immediately after and 45 min after each intervention.

Three Decades of Follow-up After Surgical Closure of Subarterial Ventricular Septal Defect.

We determined the occurrence of aortic regurgitation (AR), AR progression and risk factors in patients followed up for up to three decades after closure of subarterial VSD. We reviewed the outcomes of 86 patients categorized into three groups: group I comprised 37 patients without AR and had VSD closure alone, group II comprised 40 patients with AR and had VSD closure without aortic valvoplasty, and group III comprised 9 patients with AR and required both VSD closure and aortic valvoplasty. Patients were followed up for 18.

Prescribing high-intensity interval exercise by rating of perceived exertion in young individuals.

Background: We tested the hypothesis that the 6 to 20 rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is a cost-effective tool similar to heart rate (HR) response to cardiopulmonary exercise test for prescribing and self-regulating high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE). In this context, we analyzed if health-related responses to exercise are similar between HIIE prescribed and self-regulated by RPE (HIIERPE) and HIIE prescribed and regulated by HR response to cardiopulmonary exercise test (HIIEHR).

Methods: Twelve young (21±2 years) sedentary or insufficiently active individuals (weekly levels ˂150 minutes or 75 minutes of moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity, respectively) were randomly assigned to perform HIIERPE (25 minutes), HIIEHR (25 minutes) and control session (25 minutes of seated resting).

Primary varicella zoster infection compared to varicella vaccine reactivation associated meningitis in immunocompetent children.

We diagnosed varicella zoster virus (VZV) meningitis in a healthy adolescent boy who presented without a rash or fever. We aim to compare VZV reactivation meningitis in children after primary VZV infection and VZV vaccination. We reviewed the literature up until June 2020 using Pubmed/MEDLINE and EMBASE databases using 'varicella zoster', 'meningitis' and 'children' as keywords.

Effects of N-acetylcysteine treatment on ethanol's rewarding properties and dopaminergic alterations in mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal pathways.

Recent reports have shown that N-acetylcysteine (N-AC) has beneficial effects in the treatment of cocaine and nicotine abuse. Considering the similar neurobiologic mechanisms involved in the development of addiction to different drugs, N-AC treatment could be useful in the treatment of ethanol abuse. The rewarding properties of the drugs of abuse plays an important role in the development of addiction and can be studied using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm.

Assessing the safety of using the dry extract of Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (Acanthaceae) during pregnancy of Wistar rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Justicia pectoralis Jacq. (Acanthaceae), popularly known as tilo, chambá and anador, is widely used in folk medicine in Latin American countries as a sedative, anti-anxiety, reducing menopause symptoms and in the treatment of pathologies of the respiratory tract. Although J.

Cotylophoron marajoensis n. sp. (Digenea: Paramphistomidae) a parasite of Bubalus bubalis on Marajó Island, Pará, Brazilian Amazon.

The genus Cotylophoron belongs to the Paramphistomidae family and its definitive hosts are ruminants in general. This work describes the presence of a new species of the gender, a parasite in the rumen and reticulum of Bubalus bubalis, on Marajó Island in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, using of light microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy and molecular biology techniques. One hundred and ten animals were analyzed, of which 4.

Molluscicidal activity of Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae) stem bark ethanolic extract against the snail Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818): a novel plant-derived molluscicide?

Plant-derived molluscicides have been indicated as biodegradable and low-cost strategies for control of Biomphalaria spp., intermediate host for the Schistosoma. This study evaluated whether the crude ethanolic extract of the Persea americana stem bark has molluscicidal activity against embryos, newly-hatched and adults of Biomphalaria glabrata.

Susceptibility to extinction and reinstatement of ethanol-induced conditioned place preference is related to differences in astrocyte cystine-glutamate antiporter content.

Individual susceptibility to alcohol effects plays an important role in the development of alcohol addiction and studies have shown that glutamate release is altered after chronic ethanol consumption. The cystine-glutamate antiporter (xCT) is a protein that regulates glutamate release. However, little is known about the relationship between xCT levels and this individual susceptibility.

Short and prolonged maternal separation impacts on ethanol-related behaviors in rats: sex and age differences.

Maternal separation (MS) is an animal model widely used to evaluate the influence of early-life stress exposure on ethanol consumption and dependence. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of brief and prolonged MS on the pattern of consumption and ethanol conditioned place preference (CPP) in male and female rats during adolescence and adulthood. Wistar rat pups were separated daily from their dams for 15 or 180 minutes during the 2 to 10 postnatal days (PND).

[The use of phytotherapy during pregnancy: a global overview].

The scope of this study is to present an integrative review of the prevalence of the use of phytotherapy during pregnancy. A review of the topic was made by research in the Scielo, Medline and Science Direct databases using the following key words: "herbs and pregnancy," "plant and gestation," with their respective terms in Portuguese. Forty-six articles published between 2000 and 2015 met the study's inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this review.

Developmental toxicity evaluation of Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) Landrum, (E)-methyl isoeugenol chemotype, in Wistar rats.

Background: Pimenta pseudocaryophyllus (Gomes) Landrum (Myrtaceae) has been traditionally used in Brazilian folk medicine. Studies have established the botanical characterization, phytochemistry profile, and pharmacological potential of this species, including antibiotic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antioxidant, antinociceptive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Despite its widespread use, no previous study has been conducted regarding its toxicological profile, especially during pregnancy.

Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc. lamina anatomy as a tool for taxonomic distinction from B. odorata (Barb. Rodr.) Noblick comb. nov (Arecaceae).

The distinction between Butia capitata and B. odorata is based only on a few morphological characteristics, therefore there is a need for additional studies for supporting the separation of the species. As lamina anatomy characteristics are relevant in circumscribing Arecaceae taxa, this work aimed to describe B.

Glucose transporter 1 expression accompanies hypoxia sensing in the cyclic canine corpus luteum.

The canine corpus luteum (CL) functions as a source of progesterone (P4) and 17β-oestradiol (E2); however, the transport of energy substrates to maintain its high hormonal output has not yet been characterised. This study involved the localisation and temporal distribution of the facilitative glucose transporter 1 and the quantification of the corresponding protein (GLUT1) and gene (SLC2A1) expression. Some GLUT1/SLC2A1 regulatory proteins, such as hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1A) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2); mRNAs, such as HIF1A, FGF2 and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA); and VEGFA receptors 1 and 2 (FLT1 and KDR) were also analysed from days 10 to 70 after ovulation.

Ethopharmacological evaluation of the rat exposure test: a prey-predator interaction test.

The rat exposure test (RET) is a prey (mouse)-predator (rat) situation that activates brain defensive areas and elicits hormonal and defensive behavior in the mouse. Here, we investigated possible correlations between the spatiotemporal [time spent in protected (home chamber and tunnel) and unprotected (surface) compartments and frequency of entries into the three compartments] and ethological [e.g.

Corticosterone does not change open elevated plus maze-induced antinociception in mice.

It has been demonstrated that the exposure of rodents to the standard elevated plus-maze (sEPM: 2 open and 2 enclosed arms) elicits defensive behavioral reactions and antinociception and also activates the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We have recently reported that EPM-induced antinociception is particularly observed when rats and mice are exposed to a totally open EPM (oEPM: 4 open arms). Given that the oEPM seems to be a more aversive situation than the sEPM, we hypothesized that oEPM exposure would induce higher plasma levels of corticosterone than sEPM exposure in mice.

Ventrolateral periaqueductal gray lesion attenuates nociception but does not change anxiety-like indices or fear-induced antinociception in mice.

The exposure of rodents to an open elevated plus-maze (oEPM: four open arms raised from the floor) elicits naloxone-insensitive antinociception. Midazolam infusion into the dorsal portion of the periaqueductal gray (dPAG), a structure of the descending inhibitory system of pain, failed to alter oEPM-induced antinociception. Chemical lesion of dorsomedial and dorsolateral PAG attenuated defensive behavior in the standard EPM (sEPM), an animal model of anxiety, but failed to change oEPM-induced antinociception.