The Root Aqueous Extract of Entada africana

Entada africana (Mimosaceae) was reported to have analgesic and antioxidant properties. The present study is aimed at investigating the effects of the root aqueous extract of Entada africana (EA) on an experimental model of endometriosis. The study was performed in rats orally treated with EA at doses of 127.5, 255, and 510 mg/kg. Microgynon® 30 served as the reference substance. Estradiol valerate and oxytocin were used to induce dysmenorrhea. Endometrial implant levels of catalase and malondialdehyde (MDA) allowed estimating tissue oxidative status. Ovarian dynamic and rat sexual behavior were assessed through histological analysis of ovaries, uterus, and vagina. EA decreased dysmenorrhea at tested doses following a 7-day treatment (p<0.001). Endometrial implant volume decreased following the three treatment periods (p<0.05). Catalase activity (p<0.001) and MDA level (p<0.01) increased only following a 3-day treatment. EA also increased antral follicles, reduced luteinized unruptured follicle number (p<0.001), and induced animals to be in the estrus phase. In conclusion, EA prevented the progress of endometriosis, reduced dysmenorrhea, promoted ovarian follicle growth, prevented anovulation, and stimulated the special period of rat sexual desire. These results suggest that Entada africana could be a promising alternative option for the treatment of endometriosis

In vitro and in vivo antiestrogenic effects of dichloromethane-methanol extract of Crateva adansonii DC

Abstract: Despite significant developments occurring in the treatment of cancer, it still remains the second deadly disease, responsible for 8.2 million deaths every year. Various natural substances have been studied for active molecules of tumor suppression in the past and the tropical flora, by its diversity, continues to provide new antitumor drugs. Crateva adansonii dichloromethane-methanol (DCM/MeOH) extract was previously reported to prevent breast tumors in Wistar rats. However, it exhibited weak cytotoxic effect in human MCF-7 cells. The present study, therefore, deals with the investigation of its estrogenic and antiestrogenic effects. In vitro estrogenicity and antiestrogenicity of C. adansonii DCM/MeOH extract were performed by E-screen assay. In vivo, the investigation was carried out using the 3 days uterotrophic assay in ovariectomized rats, a classical tool for the prediction of estrogenicity of chemicals. As a result, C. adansonii extract did not induce MCF-7 cells proliferation, which is an estrogenic hallmark. However, C. adansonii extract induced a significant (P <0.05) decrease in a concentration-dependent manner of the MCF-7 proliferation when co-administered with E2B. In vivo, no estrogen-like effect was observed following a 3-day treatment with C. adansonii extract in estrogen target organs. However, the co-administration of C. adansonii extract with E2V lead to decreased uterine wet weight (P <0.05), total protein levels in uteri (P <0.01) as well as uterine and vaginal epithelial heights (P <0.05) as compared to animals treated with E2V only. These results suggest that C. adansonii has antiestrogenic effects but not estrogenic effects, which might account for its previously observed antimammary tumour effects in rats

Granule cell ascending axon excitatory synapses onto Golgi cells implement a potent feedback circuit in the cerebellar granular layer.

The function of inhibitory interneurons within brain microcircuits depends critically on the nature and properties of their excitatory synaptic drive. Golgi cells (GoCs) of the cerebellum inhibit cerebellar granule cells (GrCs) and are driven both by feedforward mossy fiber (mf) and feedback GrC excitation. Here, we have characterized GrC inputs to GoCs in rats and mice. We show that, during sustained mf discharge, synapses from local GrCs contribute equivalent charge to GoCs as mf synapses, arguing for the importance of the feedback inhibition. Previous studies predicted that GrC-GoC synapses occur predominantly between parallel fibers (pfs) and apical GoC dendrites in the molecular layer (ML). By combining EM and Ca(2+) imaging, we now demonstrate the presence of functional synaptic contacts between ascending axons (aa) of GrCs and basolateral dendrites of GoCs in the granular layer (GL). Immunohistochemical quantification estimates these contacts to be ∼400 per GoC. Using Ca(2+) imaging to identify synaptic inputs, we show that EPSCs from aa and mf contacts in basolateral dendrites display similarly fast kinetics, whereas pf inputs in the ML exhibit markedly slower kinetics as they undergo strong filtering by apical dendrites. We estimate that approximately half of the local GrC contacts generate fast EPSCs, indicating their basolateral location in the GL. We conclude that GrCs, through their aa contacts onto proximal GoC dendrites, define a powerful feedback inhibitory circuit in the GL.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't2013 Jul 24importe

Indices De La Pauvrete Dans La Comune Urbano-Rurale De Mont Ngafula, Ville Province De Kinshasa Rdcongo: Vecu, Problemes Et Perspectives.

La République Démocratique du Congo est l’un de cinq nations les plus pauvres  du monde. En 2021, près de 64% de la population du pays  vivent le seuil de la pauvreté et  dépensent  moins de 2,15 dollars par jour. Il n'est un secret pour personne que la République Démocratique du Congo regorge, au niveau du sol et du sous-sol, une richesse incommensurable qui étonne plus d'un observateur. La convoitise au niveau international ayant conduit à la déclaration de la forêt de la RDC comme étant un patrimoine mondial par les organismes internationaux, en est une preuve irréfutable. A cela s'ajoute une multitude d'intellectuels produits par les universités, aussi bien publiques que privées, chaque année. En principe, ces opportunités combinées devraient constituer une base importante pour son développement intégral. Malheureusement, tous les secteurs sont dans un étant de dégringolade sans précédent. Cette situation paradoxale nous interpellé comme cela doit être le cas pour tout intellectuel averti. Pour ne pas divaguer dans tous les sens, nous avons focalisé notre réflexion sur le secteur social : de l'éducation jusqu'à la santé en passant par l'emploi, le constat reste déplorable..La République Démocratique du Congo est l’un de cinq nations les plus pauvres &nbsp;du monde. En 2021, près de 64% de la population du pays &nbsp;vivent le seuil de la pauvreté et &nbsp;dépensent &nbsp;moins de 2,15 dollars par jour. Il n'est un secret pour personne que la République Démocratique du Congo regorge, au niveau du sol et du sous-sol, une richesse incommensurable qui étonne plus d'un observateur. La convoitise au niveau international ayant conduit à la déclaration de la forêt de la RDC comme étant un patrimoine mondial par les organismes internationaux, en est une preuve irréfutable. A cela s'ajoute une multitude d'intellectuels produits par les universités, aussi bien publiques que privées, chaque année. En principe, ces opportunités combinées devraient constituer une base importante pour son développement intégral. Malheureusement, tous les secteurs sont dans un étant de dégringolade sans précédent. Cette situation paradoxale nous interpellé comme cela doit être le cas pour tout intellectuel averti. Pour ne pas divaguer dans tous les sens, nous avons focalisé notre réflexion sur le secteur social : de l'éducation jusqu'à la santé en passant par l'emploi, le constat reste déplorable

ARIA digital anamorphosis: Digital transformation of health and care in airway diseases from research to practice

Digital anamorphosis is used to define a distorted image of health and care that may be viewed correctly using digital tools and strategies. MASK digital anamorphosis represents the process used by MASK to develop the digital transformation of health and care in rhinitis. It strengthens the ARIA change management strategy in the prevention and management of airway disease. The MASK strategy is based on validated digital tools. Using the MASK digital tool and the CARAT online enhanced clinical framework, solutions for practical steps of digital enhancement of care are proposed

Voltage- and Branch-Specific Climbing Fiber Responses in Purkinje Cells

Summary: Climbing fibers (CFs) provide instructive signals driving cerebellar learning, but mechanisms causing the variable CF responses in Purkinje cells (PCs) are not fully understood. Using a new experimentally validated PC model, we unveil the ionic mechanisms underlying CF-evoked distinct spike waveforms on different parts of the PC. We demonstrate that voltage can gate both the amplitude and the spatial range of CF-evoked Ca2+ influx by the availability of K+ currents. This makes the energy consumed during a complex spike (CS) also voltage dependent. PC dendrites exhibit inhomogeneous excitability with individual branches as computational units for CF input. The variability of somatic CSs can be explained by voltage state, CF activation phase, and instantaneous CF firing rate. Concurrent clustered synaptic inputs affect CSs by modulating dendritic responses in a spatially precise way. The voltage- and branch-specific CF responses can increase dendritic computational capacity and enable PCs to actively integrate CF signals. : Zang et al. find that the availability of K+ currents regulates Ca2+ influx and corresponding energy consumption during climbing fiber input in Purkinje cell dendrites. They systematically explore the mechanisms underlying variable somatic complex spikes and identify branchlet-specific computation in dendrites. Keywords: cerebellum, Purkinje cell, climbing fiber, complex spikes, dendritic spikes, dendritic excitability, biophysical model, energy consumptio

Optogenetic stimulation of complex spatio-temporal activity patterns by acousto-optic light steering probes cerebellar granular layer integrative properties

Abstract Optogenetics provides tools to control afferent activity in brain microcircuits. However, this requires optical methods that can evoke asynchronous and coordinated activity within neuronal ensembles in a spatio-temporally precise way. Here we describe a light patterning method, which combines MHz acousto-optic beam steering and adjustable low numerical aperture Gaussian beams, to achieve fast 2D targeting in scattering tissue. Using mossy fiber afferents to the cerebellar cortex as a testbed, we demonstrate single fiber optogenetic stimulation with micron-scale lateral resolution, >100 µm depth-penetration and 0.1 ms spiking precision. Protracted spatio-temporal patterns of light delivered by our illumination system evoked sustained asynchronous mossy fiber activity with excellent repeatability. Combining optical and electrical stimulations, we show that the cerebellar granular layer performs nonlinear integration, whereby sustained mossy fiber activity provides a permissive context for the transmission of salient inputs, enriching combinatorial views on mossy fiber pattern separation

Data_Sheet_1_Neurotransmitter content heterogeneity within an interneuron class shapes inhibitory transmission at a central synapse.PDF

Neurotransmitter content is deemed the most basic defining criterion for neuronal classes, contrasting with the intercellular heterogeneity of many other molecular and functional features. Here we show, in the adult mouse brain, that neurotransmitter content variegation within a neuronal class is a component of its functional heterogeneity. Golgi cells (GoCs), the well-defined class of cerebellar interneurons inhibiting granule cells (GrCs), contain cytosolic glycine, accumulated by the neuronal transporter GlyT2, and GABA in various proportions. By performing acute manipulations of cytosolic GABA and glycine supply, we find that competition of glycine with GABA reduces the charge of IPSC evoked in GrCs and, more specifically, the amplitude of a slow component of the IPSC decay. We then pair GrCs recordings with optogenetic stimulations of single GoCs, which preserve the intracellular transmitter mixed content. We show that the strength and decay kinetics of GrCs IPSCs, which are entirely mediated by GABAA receptors, are negatively correlated to the presynaptic expression of GlyT2 by GoCs. We isolate a slow spillover component of GrCs inhibition that is also affected by the expression of GlyT2, leading to a 56% decrease in relative charge. Our results support the hypothesis that presynaptic loading of glycine negatively impacts the GABAergic transmission in mixed interneurons, most likely through a competition for vesicular filling. We discuss how the heterogeneity of neurotransmitter supply within mixed interneurons like the GoC class may provide a presynaptic mechanism to tune the gain of microcircuits such as the granular layer, thereby expanding the realm of their possible dynamic behaviors.</p