Eccentric Exercise Leads To Glial Activation But Not Apoptosis In Mice Spinal Cords.

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of 3 overtraining (OT) protocols on the glial activation and apoptosis in the spinal cords of mice. Rodents were divided into control (C; sedentary mice), overtrained by downhill running (OTR/down), overtrained by uphill running (OTR/up) and overtrained by running without inclination (OTR). The incremental load test, ambulation test, exhaustive test and functional behavioural assessment were used as performance evaluation parameters. 36 h after the exhaustive test, the dorsal and ventral parts of the lumbar spinal cord (L4-L6) were dissected for subsequent protein analysis by immunoblotting. The OT protocols led to similar responses of some performance parameters. The ventral glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) protein levels were diminished in the OTR/up and OTR compared to CT and OTR/down groups. The ventral ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1), and the dorsal GFAP and Iba-1 protein levels were increased in the OTR/down compared to the other groups. The ratio between the cleaved capase-3/caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9/caspase-9 measured in the spinal cord were not sensitive to the OT protocols. In summary, the OTR/down activated the glial cells in the motor (i. e. Iba-1) and sensory (i. e. GFAP and Iba-1) neurons without leading to apoptosis

Hepatic Lipidosis Due to Obesity in a Free-Living Snake (Boa constrictor amarali)

Background: Liver performs several important functions to the maintenance of physiological mechanisms. Some liver diseases may directly affect anatomical and physiological aspects of this organ, and may lead to a permanent liver injury. In snakes, the most common causes of liver disease are infections, however, approaches on non-infectious liver diseases are scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe macroscopically and microscopically liver alterations in a Boa constrictor amarali snake.Case: A adult male boa (Boa constrictor amarali) snake of 110 cm of length and weight of 3.270 kg from free-living conditions, and without previous history was rescued in an urban area and taken by the Environmental Police to the Laboratory for Teaching and Research in Wild Animals (LAPAS) of the Federal University of Uberlândia’s (UFU) Veterinary Hospital, in Uberlândia MG, Brazil. The animal died and a significant amount of adipose tissue was found throughout the extension of the coelomic cavity at necropsy, limiting the visualization of its internal organs. Fragments of altered organs were collected and packed in a universal collector containing a 10% buffered formalin solution. These samples were sent to the Animal Pathology Laboratory (LPA) of the UFU. Macroscopically, the stomach presented a reddish mucosa, and mucous contents. The liver was pale, with a yellowish color and a friable consistency. Microscopically, dilated hepatic sinusoids filled with red blood cells were observed; the hepatocytes were enlarged, and its cytoplasm were filled with vacuoles ofvaried sizes that did not stain (severe diffuse lipidosis). It was also found occurrence of multifocal areas with loss of tissue architecture, and hepatocytes in karyolysis, charactering necrosis; and a discrete amount of multifocal mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate (multifocal hepatitis).Discussion: Obesity is connected to the occurrence of hepatic steatosis, since snakes are ectothermic animals that depend on environmental factors to maintain their metabolic rates. Obesity is a common problem in reptiles kept in captivity because they usually have constantly available food and little space to move. However, this was also observed in this study in a free-living animal found in an urbanized environment. Urbanization provides greater availability of food, and the animal does not need to go long distances to find a pray; this causes greater gain of body weight. Reptiles subjected to hot environments lose weight rapidly due to their relatively high metabolic rates. However, when subjected to low temperatures, they have a decrease in metabolism, compromising absorption, digestion, and liver metabolism, which causes fat accumulation. The animal under study is sedentary and it is a marked characteristic of this species; this strengthen the hypothesis that the animal moved little to feed because it was in an environment with high availability of prey. The animal presented accumulation of fat throughout the coelomic cavity, causing the rate of accumulation of triglycerides in the hepatocytes to exceed its metabolic degradation rate, resulting in steatosis. The early diagnosis of hepatic alterations favors the appropriatetreatment, allowing the prevention of irreversible damage to this organ, and avoid the animal’s death.Keywords: ectotherm, hepatocellular lipidosis, snakes, amaral’s boa, hepatic steatosis

In Vitro Schistosomicidal Activity of Some Brazilian Cerrado Species and Their Isolated Compounds

, Struthanthus syringifolius (Mart.) (Loranthaceae), and Schefflera vinosa (Cham. & Schltdl.) Frodin (Araliaceae) are plant species from the Brazilian Cerrado whose schistosomicidal potential has not yet been described. The crude extracts, fractions, the triterpenes betulin, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and the flavonoids quercetin 3- Schistosoma mansoni adult worms and the bioactive n-hexane fractions of the mentioned species were also analyzed by GC-MS. Betulin was able to cause worm death percentage values of 25% after 120 h (at 100 μM), and 25% and 50% after 24 and 120 h (at 200 μM), respectively; besides the flavonoid quercetin 3-O-β-d-rhamnoside promoted 25% of death of the parasites at 100 μM. Farther the flavonoids quercetin 3-O-β-d-glucoside and quercetin 3-O-β-d-rhamnoside at 100 μM exhibited significantly reduction in motor activity, 75% and 87.5%, respectively. Biological results indicated that crude extracts of R. montana, S. vinosa, and M. langsdorffii and some n-hexane and EtOAc fractions of this species were able to induce worm death to some extent. The results suggest that lupane-type triterpenes and flavonoid monoglycosides should be considered for further antiparasites studies

Halogenated Indole Alkaloids from Marine Invertebrates

This review discusses the isolation, structural elucidation, and biological activities of halogenated indole alkaloids obtained from marine invertebrates. Meridianins and related compounds (variolins, psammopemmins, and aplicyanins), as well as aplysinopsins and leptoclinidamines, are focused on. A compilation of the 13C-NMR spectral data of these selected natural indole alkaloids is also provided

In Vitro Schistosomicidal Activity of Some Brazilian Cerrado Species and Their Isolated Compounds

Miconia langsdorffii Cogn. (Melastomataceae), Roupala montana Aubl. (Proteaceae), Struthanthus syringifolius (Mart.) (Loranthaceae), and Schefflera vinosa (Cham. & Schltdl.) Frodin (Araliaceae) are plant species from the Brazilian Cerrado whose schistosomicidal potential has not yet been described. The crude extracts, fractions, the triterpenes betulin, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid and the flavonoids quercetin 3-O-beta-D-rhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside and isorhamnetin 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-2)-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside were evaluated in vitro against Schistosoma mansoni adult worms and the bioactive n-hexane fractions of the mentioned species were also analyzed by GC-MS. Betulin was able to cause worm death percentage values of 25% after 120 h (at 100 mu M), and 25% and 50% after 24 and 120 h (at 200 mu M), respectively; besides the flavonoid quercetin 3-O-beta-D-rhamnoside promoted 25% of death of the parasites at 100 mu M. Farther the flavonoids quercetin 3-O-beta-D-glucoside and quercetin 3-O-beta-D-rhamnoside at 100 mu M exhibited significantly reduction in motor activity, 75% and 87.5%, respectively. Biological results indicated that crude extracts of R. montana, S. vinosa, and M. langsdorffii and some n-hexane and EtOAc fractions of this species were able to induce worm death to some extent. The results suggest that lupane-type triterpenes and flavonoid monoglycosides should be considered for further antiparasites studies.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2006/60132-4, 2008/01268-9, 2009/00604-8]Coordenadoria de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq

Sífilis congênita como uma abordagem sistêmica / Congenital syphilis as a systemic approach

Introdução: A sífilis congênita é uma doença infectocontagiosa que embora todo curso clinico seja conhecido, essa patologia se apresenta como um problema de saúde.Objetivo: Relatar os principais entraves enfrentados pelo Ministério da Saúde no que se refere a sífilis congênita, bem como algumas características epidemiológicas maternas.Metodologia: Se trata de um estudo de revisão sistemática, descritivo, retrospectivo sendo estruturado a partir de artigos científicos retirados na plataforma do PubMed e Scielo.Discussão: A sífilis vem aumentando sua incidência nos últimos anos, principalmente devido a não adesão materna ao tratamento, assim como o fato de seus parceiros também não se tratarem. Como consequência à falta de adesão, isso repercute no aumento de casos de natimortos e abortos. Conclusão: Portanto, por ser uma doença cujo diagnóstico e tratamento são de baixo custo, faz-se necessário rever as estratégias de saúde no que se refere à promoção e prevenção de Saúde

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio