508 research outputs found
Interação do zinco com antidepressivos no teste de suspensão da cauda e no teste do campo aberto
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Biológicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências.O efeito tipo-antidepressivo do zinco vem sendo demonstrado em alguns modelos animais de depressão. No presente estudo, cloreto de zinco (ZnCl2) foi administrado, sozinho ou em combinação com diferentes antidepressivos, por via oral (p.o.), em camundongos, e a resposta comportamental no teste de suspensão da cauda (TSC), teste preditivo de atividade antidepressiva, e no teste do campo aberto foi investigada. ZnCl2 administrado nas doses de 10 e 30 mg/kg, p.o., 60 minutos antes dos testes comportamentais, reduziu o tempo de imobilidade no TSC, sem afetar a atividade locomotora no teste do campo aberto. Além disso, ZnCl2 (30 mg/kg, p.o.) apresentou efeito tipo-antidepressivo quando foi administrado 30' antes do TSC. Os antidepressivos fluoxetina, paroxetina, imipramina, desipramina e bupropiona produziram uma significativa redução no tempo de imobilidade no TSC nas doses de 10; 1; 1;1;10 mg/kg, p.o., respectivamente. O tratamento combinado de doses sub-efetivas de ZnCl2 (1 mg/kg) com doses sub-efetivas de fluoxetina (5 mg/kg), paroxetina (0,1 mg/kg), desipramina (0,1 mg/kg), imipramina (0,1 mg/kg), ou bupropiona (1 mg/kg) gerou uma significativa redução no tempo de imobilidade no TSC, quando comparado com grupos tratados com o veículo, ZnCl2 ou antidepressivos sozinhos. O tratamento com ZnCl2 e antidepressivos sozinhos ou em combinação não afetou a locomoção dos animais submetidos ao teste do campo aberto, exceto a desipramina que administrada sozinha reduziu a locomoção dos animais. O tratamento com desipramina (0,1 mg/kg) ou paroxetina (0,1 mg/kg) sozinhos reduziu o número de respostas de levantamento vertical ("rearings") no teste do campo aberto. O tratamento com bupropiona (1 mg/kg) ou desipramina (0,1 mg/kg) sozinhos reduziu o número de respostas de auto-limpeza dos animais submetidos ao teste do campo aberto. Ainda, a administração combinada de ZnCl2 com bupropiona também diminuiu o número de respostas de auto-limpeza, condizente com um efeito semelhante a de benzodiazepínicos (ansiolíticos). Os resultados indicam, inicialmente, que o ZnCl2 administrado por via oral produz um efeito tipo-antidepressivo no TSC. Além disso, efeitos sinérgicos da administração de ZnCl2 com antidepressivos em diferentes classes foi mostrado no TSC, sugerindo que uma melhora na terapia antidepressiva clássica ocorra quando o zinco é acrescentado ao tratamento realizado com antidepressivos. Ainda, a combinação de ZnCl2 com o inibidor da recaptação de dopamina bupropiona diminuiu o número de auto-limpeza de animais submetidos ao teste do campo aberto, sugerindo que esta combinação seja efetiva no tratamento de pacientes aonde a depressão coexista com a ansiedade
In-vitro evaluation of bioactive and biodegradation properties of mesoporous ZnO architectures
No full textCurrently there is strong interest in the development of smart piezoelectric biomaterials for tissue engineering, where piezoelectricity may actively promote the growth, proliferation and differentiation of cells. [1] Piezoelectric Zinc Oxide (ZnO) materials may be easily prepared in high-surface area structures by several techniques, and captured considerable attention due to their biocompatibility and antibacterial properties. [2] Despite being widely investigated for sensors and energy harvesting applications, [3] the study of ZnO-based materials for tissue engineering is still in its infancy. Herein, we propose a preliminary investigation on the in-vitro bioactive and biodegradation behavior of high-surface area mesoporous ZnO layers, after soaking in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) solution for different times. The ZnO samples were obtained by thermal oxidation of Zn layers sputtered on silicon substrates. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical composition of the ZnO samples were studied before and after in-vitro tests. Our results show the rapid formation of CaP structures after soaking in SBF for few hours, then resulting into the formation of a CaP-rich layer onto the whole ZnO surface for prolonged soaking times. The mesoporous ZnO architecture was preserved during the overall in-vitro experimental analyses, with negligible release of biodegradation products from the ZnO structure. [1] C. Ribeiro, V. Sencadas, D.M. Correia, and S. Lanceros-Méndez, Colloids. Surf. B, 136 (2015) 46-55. [2] Y. Zhang, T. R. Nayak, H. Hong, and W. Cai, Curr. Mol. Med. 13 (2013) 1633-1645. [3] M. Laurenti, G. Canavese, A. Sacco, M. Fontana, K. Bejtka, M. Castellino, C.F. Pirri, and V. Cauda, Adv. Mater. 27 (2015) 4218-4223
Comparison of expression vectors in Lactobacillus reuteri strains
No full textSynthesis of heterologous proteins in lactobacilli is strongly influenced by the promoter selected for the
expression. In addition, the activity of the promoters themselves may vary among different bacterial
hosts. Three different promoters were investigated for their capability to drive EGFP expression in L.
lactis spp. cremoris MG1363, in Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016T and in five Lactobacillus reuteri
strains isolated from chicken crops. The promoters of L. acidophilus Surface Layer Protein gene (slp),
L. acidophilus lactate dehydrogenase gene (ldhL) and enterococcal rRNA adenine N-6-methyltransferase gene (ermB) were fused to the coding sequence of EGFP and inserted into the
backbone of pTRKH3 shuttle vector (pTRKH3-slpGFP, pTRKH3-ldhGFP, pTRKH3-ermGFP).
Besides conventional analytical methods, a new quick fluorimetric approach was set up to quantify the
EGFP fluorescence in transformed clones using the QubitTM fluorometer. ermB proved to be the most
effective promoter in L. reuteri isolates producing 3.90 x 10-7 g of fluorescent EGFP (ml x ODstationary
culture)-1. In the same conditions ldhL promoter produced 2.66 x 10-7 g of fluorescent EGFP (ml x
ODstationary culture)-1. Even though the slp promoter was efficient in L. lactis spp. cremoris MG1363, it was nearly inactive both in L. reuteri DSM 20016T and in L. reuteri isolates
Cauda equina ependymomas: surgical treatment and long-term outcomes in a series of 125 patients
No full textCauda equina ependymoma (CEE) is a rare tumor for which little information is available on the oncological and clinical outcomes of patients. In this study the authors aimed to address functional, oncological, and quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes in a large series of consecutive patients operated on at their institution during the past 20 years
Treatment of skin and soft tissue infections due to community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Europe: the role of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole0010
No full textNo abstract availabl
Siphonophores calycophorides de la Baie de Nhatrang-Cauda
No full textIn 1953, the author received a collection of clans Siphonophores collected in Nha Trang Bay by the Director of the Maritime Station of Cauda, Nha Trang (Annam), Vietnam. This paper gives the results of his studies
Le Copépodes pélagiques de la Baie de Cauda (Viet-Nam)
No full textThe author presents his study on marine pelagic fishes collected on the coast of Annam, in the Bay of Cauda, where the Indochina government built the Institute of Oceanography. These samples allowed the systematic identification of pelagic Copepods
[Neurinomas and ependymomas of the cauda equina. A review of the clinical characteristics].
No full textA retrospective review of 603 cases of intradural benign tumors of the cauda equina are presented (283 schwannomas and 320 ependymomas). For each tumor, the clinical course and long-term postoperative results were analyzed: it emerged that differential diagnosis between neurinomas and non tumoral lesions is not possible if based on clinical findings alone and that neuroradiological diagnosis is more accurate when MRI is employed. Long-term prognosis of neurinomas was always favourable, while in the ependymomas, early diagnosis gives excellent results because prognosis is apparently directly correlated to the length of preoperative clinical history
ANTI-IA REACTIVITY IN SERA FROM PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC ACTIVE HEPATITIS (CAH)
No full textAnti-Ia reactivity in sera from patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH) were characterized by determining cross-reacting specificities with the antigen defined by anti-Ia monoclonal antibody (MoAb) and by studying the effect of CAH sera on the autologous mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). Preincubation with autoimmune CAH sera lowered the percentage of Ia+ non-T cells stained by anti-Ia MoAb. HBsAg+ve/HBeAg+ve sera did not exert any blocking activity while 4 out of 11 HBsAg+ve/anti-HBe+ve sera exerted a significant blocking effect. Preincubation of cells with normal human serum (NHS) plus aggregated IgG did not block the binding of MoAb anti-Ia. Sera from patients with autoimmune or HBsAg+ve/anti-HBe+ve CAH, that blocked the binding of anti-Ia MoAb to Ia positive target cells by more than 20%, clearly inhibited the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). Both IgG and IgM fractions obtained by affinity chromatography from CAH sera inhibited the autologous MLR and blocked the binding of anti-Ia antibody to Ia positive target cells. A significant positive correlation (p less than 0.001) between serum anti-Ia reactivity and serum liver membrane antibodies (LMA) was observed. In 4 "autoimmune" CAH patients, steroid treatment induced a dramatic decrease in the anti-Ia reactivity
The Foraging Brain: Evidence of Lévy Dynamics in Brain Networks.
No full textIn this research we have analyzed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals of different networks in the brain under resting state condition. To such end, the dynamics of signal variation, have been conceived as a stochastic motion, namely it has been modelled through a generalized Langevin stochastic differential equation, which combines a deterministic drift component with a stochastic component where the Gaussian noise source has been replaced with α-stable noise. The parameters of the deterministic and stochastic parts of the model have been fitted from fluctuating data. Results show that the deterministic part is characterized by a simple, linear decreasing trend, and, most important, the α-stable noise, at varying characteristic index α, is the source of a spectrum of activity modes across the networks, from those originated by classic Gaussian noise (α = 2), to longer tailed behaviors generated by the more general Lévy noise (1 ≤ α < 2). Lévy motion is a specific instance of scale-free behavior, it is a source of anomalous diffusion and it has been related to many aspects of human cognition, such as information foraging through memory retrieval or visual exploration. Finally, some conclusions have been drawn on the functional significance of the dynamics corresponding to different α values
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