Evaluation of cardiovascular effects of edible fruits of Syzygium cumini Myrtaceae (L) skeels in rats

Purpose: To evaluate the hypotensive, vasorelaxant and antihypertensive effects elicited by the hydroalcohol extract from the fruits of Syzygium cumini (EHSCF) in non-anesthetized rats.Methods: The rats were anesthetized and polyethylene catheters were inserted into the lower abdominal aorta and into the inferior vena cava for blood pressure measurements and administration of drugs. After a recovery period of 24 h, EHSCF (0.5; 1; 5; 10; 20 and 30 mg/kg, i.v.) was administered in non-anesthetized rats. The mean arterial pressure and the heart rate were recorded. To investigate the effects of extract, doses EHSCF were administered after pretreatment with L-NAME, atropine, indomethacin, and hexamethonium. For measurement of isometric tension, a concentration-response curve was obtained after Phenylephrine and KCl (80 mM) pre-contractions. The bioactive extract was analyzed via mass spectrometry (MS) fingerprinting using direct electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).Results: EHSCF (0.5; 1; 5; 10; 20 and 30 mg/kg) induced hypotension (-15 ± 1, -14 ± 1, -15 ± 1, -13 ± 1, -11 ± 1 and -13 ± 2 %) and bradycardia (-6 ± 1, -5 ± 1, -6 ± 1, -14 ± 1, -8 ± 1 and -10 ± 2 %) in normotensive rats. These responses were attenuated by pre-treatment with L-NAME, indomethacin, hexamethonium or atropine. In phenylephrine, pre-contracted mesenteric rings, EHSCF-induced relaxation (Emax = 54.6 ± 4.5 % and pD2 = 2.7 ± 0.1) that were affected by endothelium removal. EHSCF caused relaxant effect of KCl (80 mM) pre-contracted rings (Emax = 100 ± 0.2 % and pD2 = 2.2 ± 0.1). This effect was not changed in denuded rings. A single oral administration of the extract reduced significant mean arterial pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. ESI-MS/MS analyses of EHSCF demonstrated that the major constituents of the analyzed samples coincided with the mass of the malic, gallic, caffeic and ferulic acids.Conclusion: The results suggest that EHSCF induces hypotension probably due to a decrease in peripheral resistance, mediated by the endothelium. Bradycardia may be due to indirect cardiac muscarinic activation. The extract also causes an antihypertensive effect.Keywords: Antihypertensive, Edible fruits, Hypotension, Syzygium cumini, Vasorelaxatio

Prevalence of constipation in adults with obesity class II and III and associated factors

BACKGROUND: Constipation and obesity have common risk factors. However, little is known about the occurrence of constipation in individuals with severe obesity and the associated factors. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of intestinal constipation and its associated factors in adults with obesity class II and III. METHOD: This study analyzed baseline data from a randomized clinical trial with adults aged 18–64 with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m2, living in the metropolitan region of Goiânia, Brazil. Data were collected using a questionnaire containing sociodemographic, lifestyle, level of obesity, presence of comorbidities, water intake and food consumption variables. The outcome variable was constipation assessed by the Rome III criteria and the Bristol Stool Form Scale. Multiple Poisson regression analysis was used to assess the association between explanatory variables and the outcome. RESULTS: Among the 150 participants, the prevalence of constipation was 24.67% (95% CI: 17.69–31.64). After multiple regression analyses constipation was associated with polypharmacy (adjusted PR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.18–7.57, p = 0.021), younger age group i.e. 18–29 years (adjusted PR: 3.12, 95% CI: 1.21–8.06, p = 0.019) and former smoking (adjusted PR: 3.24, 95% CI: 1.28–9.14, p = 0.014). There was no statistically significant association between constipation and daily consumption of fiber-rich foods, however, the non-consumption of whole grains was borderline significant (adjusted PR: 2.92, 95% CI: 1.00 to 8.49, p = 0.050). CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of constipation was found in adults with obesity class II and III. Constipation was significantly associated with the simultaneous use of five or more medications, younger age group and being a former smoker

Sleeve Gastrectomy Associated with Antral Lesion Resection and Roux-en-Y Antrojejunal Reconstruction

Obesity has been growing worldwide, reaching epidemic proportions. Bariatric surgery is the most effective and durable treatment for severe obesity and related diseases. Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) and Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) are the most frequently performed bariatric operations, with long-term good results, in terms of weight loss and comorbidities control. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is commonly associated with obesity. In general, it precludes the indication of sleeve gastrectomy, since this technique has a refluxogenic potential, as shown in many studies. In such cases, RYGB is considered the best surgery, reaching good weight loss and gastroesophageal reflux disease control. The drawback of this technique is that it leaves the remnant stomach, the duodenum, and the proximal part of the jejunum inaccessible. Besides, RYGB makes transoral endoscopic access to the biliary tree impossible. For all these reasons, this bariatric technique is not indicated in cases of gastric polyposis, gastric dysplasia, or strong family history of cancer, among others. We report a case of a morbidly obese patient with intense GERD, for whom a RYGB was precluded due to her strong family history of cancer, even knowing that it would be the best choice for reflux disease control. Instead, SG was chosen, even knowing it could worsen the gastroesophageal reflux disease. The patient signed an informed consent, after being fully enlightened about the risks. During the surgery, a small subserosal whitish lesion was detected, near the pylorus, on the anterior wall of the antrum. Thinking in a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST), it was resected, with a 2 cm safety margin, leaving a 4 to 5 cm hole on the gastric wall. The decision to maintain the proposed sleeve gastrectomy was made, to avoid leaving a remnant stomach, in a patient with such a strong family history of cancer. In the area of the resected lesion, an intraoperative decision was made not to just close the big gastric hole, being afraid of causing some anatomic or functional disturbance in gastric emptying. Instead, we decided to use the gastric opening to construct a Roux-en-Y antrotrojejunal anastomosis, with a 50 cm alimentary limb and a 200 cm biliopancreatic limb. Accordingly, it was performed a sleeve gastrectomy, associated with an antrojejunostomy in a Roux-en-Y fashion. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course. In the second year, she achieved normal weight and good nutritional status, without gastroesophageal reflux symptoms complaints. Seriography study shows that most of the contrast material passes through the antrojejunal anastomosis, instead of the pylorus, while the duodenum is endoscopically patent. This case report shows an unexpected surgical finding that led to a tactic of adding a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in the antrum, associated with a sleeve gastrectomy, a strategy that may be adopted in cases of morbidly obese patients with important GERD, for whom gastrointestinal exclusions are contraindicated. To confirm this hypothesis, controlled studies are needed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fatty Acid Profile and Bioactivity from Annona hypoglauca Seeds Oil

Plants from Annona (Annonaceae) genus are present in tropical regions, where they have economic and medicinal potential. Information on the fatty acids profile and bioactivity from seed oil of Annona species are incipient. The objective of this work was to investigate Annona hypoglauca seeds oil in terms of its yield, composition and biological activity (acetylcholinesterase enzyme inhibition, bactericidal and fungicidal activity). Fatty acids profiles were determined by Gas Chromatography equipped with Flame Ionization Detector. Oil yield reached about 15% and the major constituents detected were ω-9 oleic acid (42.65%) and ω-6 linoleic acid (29.63%). A. hypoglauca oil was potent for acetylcholinesterase inhibition (79.55%), and presented high and selective bioactivity against Candida albicans.Keywords: Annona hypoglauca, ω-9 Oleic Acid, ω-6 Linoleic Acid, Acetylcholinesterase, Candida albican

Predicting the targeting of tail-anchored proteins to subcellular compartments in mammalian cells

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Company of Biologists via the DOI in this record.Tail-anchored (TA) proteins contain a single transmembrane domain (TMD) at the Cterminus, anchoring them to organelle membranes where they mediate a variety of critical cellular processes. Mutations in individual TA proteins cause a number of severe inherited disorders. However, the molecular mechanisms and signals facilitating proper TA protein targeting are not fully understood, in particular in mammals. Here, we identify additional TA proteins at peroxisomes or shared by multiple organelles in mammals and reveal that a combination of TMD hydrophobicity and tail charge determines targeting to distinct organelles. Specifically, an increase in tail charge can override a hydrophobic TMD signal and re-direct a protein from the ER to peroxisomes or mitochondria and vice versa. We demonstrate that subtle alterations in those physicochemical parameters can shift TA protein targeting between organelles, explaining why peroxisomes and mitochondria share many TA proteins. Our analyses enabled us to allocate characteristic physicochemical parameters to different organelle groups. This classification allows for the first time, successful prediction of the location of uncharacterized TA proteins.We thank colleagues who provided materials (see Tables S1-S4) and acknowledge support from A. C. Magalhães, M. Almeida, D. Tuerker, S. Kuehl and C. Davies. This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/K006231/1 to M.S.), a Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Award (WT097835MF, WT105618MA to M.S.), the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and FEDER/COMPETE (PTDC/BIA-BCM/118605/2010 to M.S.; SFRH/BD/37647/2007 to N.B.; SFRH/BPD/77619/2011 and UID/BIM/04501/2013 to D.R.). M.W., E.A.G., and M.S. are supported by Marie Curie Initial Training Network (ITN) action PerFuMe (316723)

Atypical audiovisual speech integration in infants at risk for autism

The language difficulties often seen in individuals with autism might stem from an inability to integrate audiovisual information, a skill important for language development. We investigated whether 9-month-old siblings of older children with autism, who are at an increased risk of developing autism, are able to integrate audiovisual speech cues. We used an eye-tracker to record where infants looked when shown a screen displaying two faces of the same model, where one face is articulating/ba/and the other/ga/, with one face congruent with the syllable sound being presented simultaneously, the other face incongruent. This method was successful in showing that infants at low risk can integrate audiovisual speech: they looked for the same amount of time at the mouths in both the fusible visual/ga/− audio/ba/and the congruent visual/ba/− audio/ba/displays, indicating that the auditory and visual streams fuse into a McGurk-type of syllabic percept in the incongruent condition. It also showed that low-risk infants could perceive a mismatch between auditory and visual cues: they looked longer at the mouth in the mismatched, non-fusible visual/ba/− audio/ga/display compared with the congruent visual/ga/− audio/ga/display, demonstrating that they perceive an uncommon, and therefore interesting, speech-like percept when looking at the incongruent mouth (repeated ANOVA: displays x fusion/mismatch conditions interaction: F(1,16) = 17.153, p = 0.001). The looking behaviour of high-risk infants did not differ according to the type of display, suggesting difficulties in matching auditory and visual information (repeated ANOVA, displays x conditions interaction: F(1,25) = 0.09, p = 0.767), in contrast to low-risk infants (repeated ANOVA: displays x conditions x low/high-risk groups interaction: F(1,41) = 4.466, p = 0.041). In some cases this reduced ability might lead to the poor communication skills characteristic of autism

Association of body mass index and height with risk of prostate cancer among middle-aged Japanese men

In a population-based prospective study of 49 850 Japanese men, body mass index and height were not significantly associated with risk of prostate cancer (311 cases), although small positive effects could not be ruled out in advanced cases (91 cases)

Thermochemical studies on 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxamide-1,4-dioxide derivatives: Enthalpies of formation and of N-O bond dissociation

The standard molar enthalpies of formation of the 3-methyl-N-R-2- quinoxalinecarboxamide-1,4-dioxides (R = H, phenyl, 2-tolyl) in the gas phase were derived using the values for the enthalpies of combustion of the crystalline compounds, measured by static bomb combustion calorimetry, and for the enthalpies of sublimation, measured by Knudsen effusion, at T = 298.15 K. These values have also been used to calibrate a computational procedure that has been employed to estimate the gas-phase enthalpies of formation of the corresponding 3-methyl-N-R-2-quinoxalinecarboxamides and also to compute the first, second, and mean N-O bond dissociation enthalpies in the gas phase. It is found that the size of the substituent almost does not influence the computed N-O bond dissociation enthalpies; the maximum enthalpic difference is 5 kJ·mol-1. © 2007 American Chemical Society

Structure of the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus N0-P Complex

Replication of non-segmented negative-strand RNA viruses requires the continuous supply of the nucleoprotein (N) in the form of a complex with the phosphoprotein (P). Here, we present the structural characterization of a soluble, heterodimeric complex between a variant of vesicular stomatitis virus N lacking its 21 N-terminal residues (NΔ21) and a peptide of 60 amino acids (P60) encompassing the molecular recognition element (MoRE) of P that binds RNA-free N (N0). The complex crystallized in a decameric circular form, which was solved at 3.0 Å resolution, reveals how the MoRE folds upon binding to N and competes with RNA binding and N polymerization. Small-angle X-ray scattering experiment and NMR spectroscopy on the soluble complex confirms the binding of the MoRE and indicates that its flanking regions remain flexible in the complex. The structure of this complex also suggests a mechanism for the initiation of viral RNA synthesis