6-Shogaol reduced chronic inflammatory response in the knees of rats treated with complete Freund's adjuvant

BACKGROUND: 6-Shogaol is one of the major compounds in the ginger rhizome that may contribute to its anti-inflammatory properties. Confirmation of this contribution was sought in this study in Sprague- Dawley rats (200–250 g) treated with a single injection (0.5 ml of 1 mg/ml) of a commercial preparation of complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) to induce monoarthritis in the right knee over a period of 28 days. During this development of arthritis, each rat received a daily oral dose of either peanut oil (0.2 ml-control) or 6-shogaol (6.2 mg/Kg in 0.2 ml peanut oil). RESULTS: Within 2 days of CFA injection, the control group produced maximum edematous swelling of the knee that was sustained up to the end of the investigation period. But, in the 6-shogaol treated group, significantly lower magnitudes of unsustained swelling of the knees (from 5.1 ± 0.2 mm to 1.0 ± 0.2 mm, p < 0.002, n = 6) were produced during the investigation period. Unsustained swelling of the knees (from 3.2 ± 0.6 mm to 0.8 ± 1.1 mm, p < 0.00008, n = 6) was also produced after 3 days of treatment with indomethacin (2 mg/Kg/day) as a standard anti-inflammatory drug, but during the first 2 days of drug treatment swelling of the knees was significantly larger (11.6 ± 2.0 mm, p < 0.0002, n = 6) than either the controls or the 6-shogaol treated group of rats. This exaggerated effect in the early stage of indomethacin treatment was inhibited by montelukast, a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist. Also, 6-shogaol and indomethacin were most effective in reducing swelling of the knees on day 28 when the controls still had maximum swelling. The effect of 6-shogaol compared to the controls was associated with significantly lower concentration of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in the blood and infiltration of leukocytes, including lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages, into the synovial cavity of the knee. There was also preservation of the morphological integrity of the cartilage lining the femur compared to damage to this tissue in the peanut oil treated control group of rats. CONCLUSION: From these results, it is concluded that 6-shogaol reduced the inflammatory response and protected the femoral cartilage from damage produced in a CFA monoarthritic model of the knee joint of rats

An evaluation of classification systems for stillbirth

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Audit and classification of stillbirths is an essential part of clinical practice and a crucial step towards stillbirth prevention. Due to the limitations of the ICD system and lack of an international approach to an acceptable solution, numerous disparate classification systems have emerged. We assessed the performance of six contemporary systems to inform the development of an internationally accepted approach.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We evaluated the following systems: Amended Aberdeen, Extended Wigglesworth; PSANZ-PDC, ReCoDe, Tulip and CODAC. Nine teams from 7 countries applied the classification systems to cohorts of stillbirths from their regions using 857 stillbirth cases. The main outcome measures were: the ability to retain the important information about the death using the <it>InfoKeep </it>rating; the ease of use according to the <it>Ease </it>rating (both measures used a five-point scale with a score <2 considered unsatisfactory); inter-observer agreement and the proportion of unexplained stillbirths. A randomly selected subset of 100 stillbirths was used to assess inter-observer agreement.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>InfoKeep </it>scores were significantly different across the classifications (<it>p </it>≤ 0.01) due to low scores for Wigglesworth and Aberdeen. CODAC received the highest mean (SD) score of 3.40 (0.73) followed by PSANZ-PDC, ReCoDe and Tulip [2.77 (1.00), 2.36 (1.21), 1.92 (1.24) respectively]. Wigglesworth and Aberdeen resulted in a high proportion of unexplained stillbirths and CODAC and Tulip the lowest. While <it>Ease </it>scores were different (<it>p </it>≤ 0.01), all systems received satisfactory scores; CODAC received the highest score. Aberdeen and Wigglesworth showed poor agreement with kappas of 0.35 and 0.25 respectively. Tulip performed best with a kappa of 0.74. The remainder had good to fair agreement.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Extended Wigglesworth and Amended Aberdeen systems cannot be recommended for classification of stillbirths. Overall, CODAC performed best with PSANZ-PDC and ReCoDe performing well. Tulip was shown to have the best agreement and a low proportion of unexplained stillbirths. The virtues of these systems need to be considered in the development of an international solution to classification of stillbirths. Further studies are required on the performance of classification systems in the context of developing countries. Suboptimal agreement highlights the importance of instituting measures to ensure consistency for any classification system.</p

Lack of Evidence for Neonatal Misoprostol Neurodevelopmental Toxicity in C57BL6/J Mice

Misoprostol is a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin E1 that is administered to women at high doses to induce uterine contractions for early pregnancy termination and at low doses to aid in cervical priming during labor. Because of the known teratogenic effects of misoprostol when given during gestation and its effects on axonal growth in vitro, we examined misoprostol for its potential as a neurodevelopmental toxicant when administered to neonatal C57BL6/J mice. Mice were injected subcutaneously (s.c.) with 0.4, 4 or 40 µg/kg misoprostol on postnatal day 7, the approximate developmental stage in mice of human birth, after which neonatal somatic growth, and sensory and motor system development were assessed. These doses were selected to span the range of human exposure used to induce labor. In addition, adult mice underwent a battery of behavioral tests relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism including tests for anxiety, stereotyped behaviors, social communication and interactions, and learning and memory. No significant effects of exposure were found for any measure of development or behavioral endpoints. In conclusion, the results of the present study in C57BL/6J mice do not provide support for neurodevelopmental toxicity after misoprostol administration approximating human doses and timed to coincide with the developmental stage of human birth

Assessment of Fluid Cavitation Threshold Using a Polymeric Split Hopkinson Bar-Confinement Chamber Apparatus

The authors would like to acknowledge the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for financial support, and Compute Canada and Sharcnet for providing the necessary computing resources.Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) has been associated with blast exposure resulting from the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in recent and past military conflicts. Experimental and numerical models of head blast exposure have demonstrated the potential for high negative pressures occurring within the head at the contre-coup location relative to the blast exposure, and it has been hypothesized that this negative pressure could result in cavitation of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) surrounding the brain, leading to brain tissue damage. The cavitation threshold of CSF, the effect of temperature, and the effect of impurities or dissolved gases are presently unknown. In this study, a novel Polymeric Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar and confinement chamber apparatus were used to generate loading in distilled water similar to the conditions in the vicinity of the CSF during blast exposure. Cavitation was identified using high-speed imaging of the event, and a validated numerical model of the apparatus was applied to determine the pressure in the fluid during the exposure. Increasing the water temperature resulted in a decrease in the 50% probability of cavitation from 21 °C (−3320 kPa ± 3%) to 37 °C (−3195 kPa ± 5%) in agreement with the theoretical values, but was not statistically significant. Importantly, the effect of water treatment had a significant effect on the cavitation pressure for water with wetting agent (−3320 kPa ± 3%), degassed water (−1369 kPa ± 16%) and untreated distilled water (−528 kPa ± 25%). Thus, reducing dissolved gases through degassing or the use of a wetting agent significantly increases the cavitation pressure and reduces the variability of the cavitation pressure threshold

Composition of the floral nectar of different subgenera of Argentinian Passiflora species

The composition of the floral nectar sugars and amino acids of four species of Passiflora (P. foetida, P. caerulea, P. suberosa, and P. misera) included in different infrageneric taxa and with distinct pollination mechanisms has been studied. The effect of weather and floral age on nectar volume, existence, and total and relative amounts of the various compounds was explored. The proportion of sugars was rather constant within a given species whereas the composition, number, and total quantity of amino acids showed great intraspecific and intra-plant variability; these nectar properties were independent of floral stage or meteorological conditions. Species belonging to the same subgenus displayed equivalent sugar ratios and similar total amount of amino acids, so these characteristics might be conservative in the genus. For all species, the amino acid concentration surpassed known values for their respective pollination syndromes, viz. bee and wasp-pollinated flowers. No relationship emerged between pollinators with different glossa length and nectars with distinct sugar ratios. Rather, nectar chemical composition seems to reflect taxonomic relationships.Fil: Amela Garcia, Maria Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Micología y Botánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Micología y Botánica; ArgentinaFil: Gottsberger, Gerhard. Universitat Ulm; Alemani

Sensory Handedness is not Reflected in Cortical Responses After Basic Nerve Stimulation: A MEG Study

Motor dominance is well established, but sensory dominance is much less clear. We therefore studied the cortical evoked magnetic fields using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in a group of 20 healthy right handed subjects in order to examine whether standard electrical stimulation of the median and ulnar nerve demonstrated sensory lateralization. The global field power (GFP) curves, as an indication of cortical activation, did not depict sensory lateralization to the dominant left hemisphere. Comparison of the M20, M30, and M70 peak latencies and GFP values exhibited no statistical differences between the hemispheres, indicating no sensory hemispherical dominance at these latencies for each nerve. Field maps at these latencies presented a first and second polarity reversal for both median and ulnar stimulation. Spatial dipole position parameters did not reveal statistical left-right differences at the M20, M30 and M70 peaks for both nerves. Neither did the dipolar strengths at M20, M30 and M70 show a statistical left-right difference for both nerves. Finally, the Laterality Indices of the M20, M30 and M70 strengths did not indicate complete lateralization to one of the hemispheres. After electrical median and ulnar nerve stimulation no evidence was found for sensory hand dominance in brain responses of either hand, as measured by MEG. The results can provide a new assessment of patients with sensory dysfunctions or perceptual distortion when sensory dominance occurs way beyond the estimated norm