Behavioral effects of a low molecular weight peptide fraction from Phaseolus vulgaris in rats.

Seminal studies stated that bean proteins are efficient neuronal tracers with affinity for brain tissue. A low molecular weight peptide fraction (<3kDa) from Phaseolus vulgaris (PV3) was previously reported to be antioxidant, non-cytotoxic, and capable of reducing reactive oxygen species and increasing nitric oxide in cells. We evaluated the effects of PV3 (5, 50, 100, 500, and 5000 µg/kg) on behavior and the molecular routes potentially involved. Acute and chronic PV3 treatments were performed before testing Wistar rats: i) in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) to assess the anxiolytic-like effect; ii) in the open field (OF) to evaluate locomotion and exploration; and iii) for depression-like behavior in forced swimming (FS). Catecholaminergic involvement was tested using the tyrosine hydroxylases (TH) enzyme inhibitor, α-methyl-DL-tyrosine (AMPT). Brain areas of chronically treated groups were dissected to assess: i) lipid peroxidation (LPO); ii) carbonylated proteins (CP); iii) superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymatic activities. Neuronal nitric oxide synthases (nNOS) and argininosuccinate synthase (ASS) protein expression was evaluated by western blotting. Acute treatment with PV3 increased the frequency and time spent in the EPM open arms, suggesting anxiolysis. PV3 increased crossing episodes in the OF. These PV3 effects on anxiety and locomotion were absent in the chronically treated group. Acute and chronic PV3 treatments reduced the immobility time in the FS test, suggesting an antidepressant effect. TH inhibition by AMPT reverted acute PV3 effects. PV3 decreased LPO and CP levels and SOD and CAT activities, whereas nNOS and ASS were reduced in few brain areas. In conclusion, PV3 displayed central antioxidant actions that are concomitant to catecholaminergic-dependent anxiolytic and antidepressant effects.

Behavioral effects of a low molecular weight peptide fraction from Phaseolus vulgaris in rats

Seminal studies stated that bean proteins are efficient neuronal tracers with affinity for brain tissue. A low molecular weight peptide fraction (<3kDa) from Phaseolus vulgaris (PV3) was previously reported to be antioxidant, non-cytotoxic, and capable of reducing reactive oxygen species and increasing nitric oxide in cells. We evaluated the effects of PV3 (5, 50, 100, 500, and 5000 µg/kg) on behavior and the molecular routes potentially involved. Acute and chronic PV3 treatments were performed before testing Wistar rats: i) in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) to assess the anxiolytic-like effect; ii) in the open field (OF) to evaluate locomotion and exploration; and iii) for depression-like behavior in forced swimming (FS). Catecholaminergic involvement was tested using the tyrosine hydroxylases (TH) enzyme inhibitor, α-methyl-DL-tyrosine (AMPT). Brain areas of chronically treated groups were dissected to assess: i) lipid peroxidation (LPO); ii) carbonylated proteins (CP); iii) superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymatic activities. Neuronal nitric oxide synthases (nNOS) and argininosuccinate synthase (ASS) protein expression was evaluated by western blotting. Acute treatment with PV3 increased the frequency and time spent in the EPM open arms, suggesting anxiolysis. PV3 increased crossing episodes in the OF. These PV3 effects on anxiety and locomotion were absent in the chronically treated group. Acute and chronic PV3 treatments reduced the immobility time in the FS test, suggesting an antidepressant effect. TH inhibition by AMPT reverted acute PV3 effects. PV3 decreased LPO and CP levels and SOD and CAT activities, whereas nNOS and ASS were reduced in few brain areas. In conclusion, PV3 displayed central antioxidant actions that are concomitant to catecholaminergic-dependent anxiolytic and antidepressant effects.

Oxidonitrergic and antioxidant effects of a low molecular weight peptide fraction from hardened bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) on endothelium.

About 3000 tons of beans are not used in human food due to hardening. Several studies on bean-derived bioactive peptides have shown potential to treat some diseases, including those relying on oxidative dysfunctions. We assessed the effects of peptides extracted from hardened bean Phaseolus vulgaris (PV) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) production, cytotoxic and cytoprotective effects in endothelial cells, and oxidonitrergic-dependent vasodilating effects. Extract was composed by peptide fraction <3 kDa (PV3) from hardened common bean residue. PV3 sequences were obtained and analyzed with bioinformatics. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with 10, 20, 30, and 250 µg/mL PV3. Oxidative stress was provoked by 3% H2O2. Cytotoxicity and cytoprotective effects were evaluated by MTT assay, whereas, ROS and NO were quantified using DHE and DAF-FM fluorescent probes by confocal microscopy. NO- and endothelium-dependent vasodilating effects of PV3 were assessed in isolated aortic rings. We found 35 peptides with an average mass of 1.14 kDa. There were no cell deaths with 10 and 20 µg/mL PV3. PV3 at 30 µg/mL increased cell viability, while cytotoxicity was observed only with 250 µg/mL PV3. PV3 at 10 µg/mL was able to protect cells from oxidative stress. PV3 also increased NO release without causing cell death. It also reduced relative ROS production induced by H2O2. PV3 vasodilating effects relied on endothelium-dependent NO release. PV3 obtained from low-commercial-value bean displays little cytotoxicity and exerts antioxidant effects, whereas it increases endothelial NO release.

Oxidonitrergic and antioxidant effects of a low molecular weight peptide fraction from hardened bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) on endothelium

About 3000 tons of beans are not used in human food due to hardening. Several studies on bean-derived bioactive peptides have shown potential to treat some diseases, including those relying on oxidative dysfunctions. We assessed the effects of peptides extracted from hardened bean Phaseolus vulgaris (PV) on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) production, cytotoxic and cytoprotective effects in endothelial cells, and oxidonitrergic-dependent vasodilating effects. Extract was composed by peptide fraction <3 kDa (PV3) from hardened common bean residue. PV3 sequences were obtained and analyzed with bioinformatics. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with 10, 20, 30, and 250 µg/mL PV3. Oxidative stress was provoked by 3% H2O2. Cytotoxicity and cytoprotective effects were evaluated by MTT assay, whereas, ROS and NO were quantified using DHE and DAF-FM fluorescent probes by confocal microscopy. NO- and endothelium-dependent vasodilating effects of PV3 were assessed in isolated aortic rings. We found 35 peptides with an average mass of 1.14 kDa. There were no cell deaths with 10 and 20 μg/mL PV3. PV3 at 30 μg/mL increased cell viability, while cytotoxicity was observed only with 250 μg/mL PV3. PV3 at 10 μg/mL was able to protect cells from oxidative stress. PV3 also increased NO release without causing cell death. It also reduced relative ROS production induced by H2O2. PV3 vasodilating effects relied on endothelium-dependent NO release. PV3 obtained from low-commercial-value bean displays little cytotoxicity and exerts antioxidant effects, whereas it increases endothelial NO release.

High salt intake during puberty leads to cardiac remodelling and baroreflex impairment in lean and obese male Wistar rats.

Modern lifestyle increases the prevalence of obesity and its co-morbidities in the young population. High-salt (HS) diets are associated with hypertension and cardiac remodelling. The present study evaluated the potential effects of cardiometabolic programming induced by HS intake during puberty in lean and obese rats. Additionally, we investigated whether HS could exacerbate the impairment of cardiovascular parameters in adult life due to postnatal early overnutrition (PO). At postnatal day 3 (PN3), twenty-four litters of Wistar rats were divided into two groups: normal litter (NL, nine pups/dam) and small litter (SL, three pups/dam) throughout the lactation period; weaning was at PN21. At PN30, the pups were subdivided into two more groups: NL plus HS (NLHS) and SL plus HS (SLHS). HS intake was from PN30 until PN60. Cardiovascular parameters were evaluated at PN120. SL rats became overweight at adulthood due to persistent hyperphagia; however, HS exposure during puberty reduced the weight gain and food intake of NLHS and SLHS. Both HS and obesity raised the blood pressure, impaired baro- and chemoreflex sensitivity and induced cardiac remodelling but no worsening was observed in the association of these factors, except a little reduction in the angiotensin type-2 receptor in the hearts from SLHS animals. Our results suggest that the response of newborn offspring to PO and juveniles to a HS diet leads to significant changes in cardiovascular parameters in adult rats. This damage may be accompanied by impairment of both angiotensin signalling and antioxidant defence in the heart.

Ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract for the treatment of fistula-in-ano: experience of a tertiary care centre in South India.

AIM: Ligation of the intersphincteric fistula tract (LIFT) is a new sphincter-sparing surgical technique increasingly used to treat fistulae-in-ano yielding good results. The aim of this study was to evaluate its effectiveness in the treatment of complex fistulae-in-ano and to determine factors associated with recurrence and its subsequent management. METHOD: A prospective observational study was performed of 167 patients with complex fistula-in-ano treated by LIFT from June 2013 to January 2014. In all patients a LIFT with partial core-out of the fistula tract was performed. RESULTS: There were 167 patients of mean age 43.6 ± 12.8 years. Thirty-three fistulae were recurrent. 150 were trans-sphincteric, 16 were intersphincteric and one was a suprasphincteric fistula. The median postoperative stay was 2 (range: 1-14) days (mean = 2.4 days). At follow up there was no change in continence. The median healing time was 4 (range: 1-8) weeks. Two patients developed an intersphincteric abscess needing surgical drainage healing uneventfully. The mean follow up was 12.8 [median = 12 (range: 4-22)] months. The healing rate was 94.1%. Ten (5.9%) patients developed a recurrent fistula that was managed by a second LIFT procedure in seven, a sinus tract excision with curettage in two and seton placement in one. Recurrence was significantly associated with diabetes mellitus and perianal collections and showed an increased incidence with tract abscesses and multiple tracts. CONCLUSION: LIFT has a high success rate in complex fistulae-in-ano. Recurrence is related to diabetes mellitus, perianal collections, tract abscesses and multiple tracts and a second LIFT procedure may be feasible and efficient.

Reliable entanglement detection under coarse-grained measurements.

We derive reliable entanglement witnesses for coarse-grained measurements on continuous variable systems. These witnesses never return a "false positive" for identification of entanglement, under any degree of coarse graining. We show that even in the case of Gaussian states, entanglement witnesses based on the Shannon entropy can outperform those based on variances. We apply our results to experimental identification of spatial entanglement of photon pairs.

Early exposure to a high-fat diet has more drastic consequences on metabolism compared with exposure during adulthood in rats.

The aim of this study was determine whether the introduction of a high-fat diet during the peripubertal phase induces significant changes in body weight control, glucose homeostasis and the parasympathetic tonus compared with the administration of this diet to adult rats. High-fat diet was offered to male Wistar rats at weaning or during adulthood. A group of rats received high-fat diet for 60 days, from weaning to 81-day-old (HF81) or from 60 to 120-day-old (HF120), whereas 2 other groups received a normal-fat diet (i. e., NF81 and NF120). We analyzed adiposity, glucose homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, and vagal nerve activity. High-fat diet increased the accumulation of adipose tissue in all of the rats, but the difference was greater in the rats that were fed the high-fat diet since weaning (p<0.001). The HF rats showed glucose intolerance with high levels of insulin secretion during the glucose tolerance test (p<0.01). Rats that were fed the high-fat diet presented severe insulin resistance, indicated by a low K itt (p<0.01). Interestingly, the HF81 rats exhibited greater insulin resistance compared with the HF120 rats (p<0.05). The recordings of vagus nerve activity showed that the HF rats had higher parasympathetic activity than the NF rats irrespective of age (p<0.01). Our results show that a high-fat diet offered to rats just after weaning or in adulthood both cause impairment of glycemic homeostasis and imbalance in parasympathetic activity. Importantly, the consumption of high-fat diet immediately after weaning has more drastic consequences compared with the consumption of the same diet during adulthood.

Revealing hidden Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen nonlocality.

Steering is a form of quantum nonlocality that is intimately related to the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox that ignited the ongoing discussion of quantum correlations. Within the hierarchy of nonlocal correlations appearing in nature, EPR steering occupies an intermediate position between Bell nonlocality and entanglement. In continuous variable systems, EPR steering correlations have been observed by violation of Reid's EPR inequality, which is based on inferred variances of complementary observables. Here we propose and experimentally test a new criterion based on entropy functions, and show that it is more powerful than the variance inequality for identifying EPR steering. Using the entropic criterion our experimental results show EPR steering, while the variance criterion does not. Our results open up the possibility of observing this type of nonlocality in a wider variety of quantum states.

Quantum entanglement beyond Gaussian criteria.

Most of the attention given to continuous variable systems for quantum information processing has traditionally been focused on Gaussian states. However, non-Gaussianity is an essential requirement for universal quantum computation and entanglement distillation, and can improve the efficiency of other quantum information tasks. Here we report the experimental observation of genuine non-Gaussian entanglement using spatially entangled photon pairs. The quantum correlations are invisible to all second-order tests, which identify only Gaussian entanglement, and are revealed only under application of a higher-order entanglement criterion. Thus, the photons exhibit a variety of entanglement that cannot be reproduced by Gaussian states.

Observation of a nonlocal optical vortex.

We report the observation of an optical vortex in the correlations of photons produced from spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The singularity appears in a nonlocal coordinate plane consisting of 1 degree of freedom of each photon.

Light microscopy study of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in rats.

BACKGROUND: Although most studies on animal ototoxicity employ scanning electron microscopy, all cochlear structures may be identified with light microscopy. This paper describes a simple method of histological assessment of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in rats, and relates morphological changes to functional changes in hearing detected by distortion product evoked otoacoustic emissions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male Wistar rats were injected with 8 mg/kg/day cisplatin, or with an equivalent volume of saline solution, for three consecutive days. They underwent distortion product evoked otoacoustic emission testing at baseline and at 24 or 48 hours after the last administration. At the end of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed and their cochleae were retrieved and prepared for haematoxylin and eosin staining. RESULTS: A four-point scoring system was used to grade injury to the external ciliated cells, as indicated by the number of cells absent from the basal turn of the cochlear duct. A four-point scoring system was also used to grade stria vascularis injury, as indicated by the degree of shrinkage of the intermediate cells. Scores were significantly higher in groups treated with cisplatin compared with controls. Morphological changes were confirmed by decreased distortion product evoked otoacoustic emission amplitudes in animals treated with cisplatin. CONCLUSION: This method is simple to perform with routine histology equipment and is appropriate for the study of acute, cisplatin-induced ototoxicity in rats.

Physiological alterations of a Fusobacterium nucleatum strain exposed to oxidative stress.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of oxidative stress on physiological and genetic characteristics of Fusobacterium nucleatum and its interference on this microbial identification methods. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fus. nucleatum ssp. nucleatum ATCC 25586 (wt-strain) and an oxidative-stress-adapted strain derived from the wt-strain (aero-strain) were employed in the study. Cell-free crude protein extracts were obtained from both strains and differentially expressed proteins were identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Bacterium identification was performed by conventional biochemical tests, automated Rapid ID 32A system and specific PCR analysis. Genetic diversity between wt- and aero-strain was assessed by arbitrarily-primed (AP)-PCR. There were significant changes in the protein profile of aero-strain. The identification of the wt-strain was confirmed by all methods employed. Similar results were obtained for aero-strain when conventional biochemical tests and PCR were used. However, aero-strain was identified as Fusobacterium varium when submitted to Rapid ID 32A system. According to AP-PCR analysis, no significant genetic alteration was detected in aero-strain. CONCLUSIONS: The adaptive response of Fus. nucleatum to oxidative stress is associated with changes on its biology, which may lead to misidentification of the organism, according to the conventional identification methods. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Oxidative stress may act as a cause of adaptive response in Fus. nucleatum with consequences to its biology, such as alterations on biochemical and physiological profile.

[Pulmonary embolism--mortality risk]. / Embolia pulmonar--risco de mortalidade.

We conducted a retrospective analysis on 311 patients with clinical diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) in a period of 3 years. 163 patients were excluded based on clinical-laboratorial criteria. The remaining 146 patients had a median age of 69 years (range: 30-91 years). 54% of the patients were male. We found dyspnea (94%), abnormal cardiopulmonary observation (89%), risk factors for venous thromboembolism (74%), tachycardia (53%), cyanosis (49%), and neck vein distension (45%) to be the most frequent findings. 64% of the patients had heart failure, 32% had myocardial ischemia, 13% had cancer, and 11% had myocardial infarction. Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) was higher than two-fold in 54% of the patients. There was severe hypoxemia in 55% of the cases and hypocapnia in 43% of the cases. Creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) was elevated in 16% of the cases. Electrocardiography was suggestive of PE in 37% of the cases. Echocardiography showed right heart dysfunction in 30% of the cases, 92% of the patients were treated with heparin, 37 patients (25%) died, 54% of which during the first 4 days after admittance. Trying to define an index of mortality in PE we evaluated all patients by discriminant analysis coming up with 14 items with good discriminative power. By approximation of their odds-ratios we determined how many points would correspond to each item in the total sum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Coxsackie B4 infection, myopericarditis and diabetes mellitus]. / Infecção por Coxsackie B4, miopericardite e diabetes.

The authors described a case of acute miopericarditis with evolution towards dilated cardiomiopathy, secondary to Coxsackie B4 infection, in a patient developing a concomitant insulin dependent diabetes (DIDM), admitted to be also an expression of this infection. The pathogenesis and the immunological basis of this aggression is discussed and some therapeutic considerations made.

[Neoplastic hypercoagulability. Apropos of 2 cases with Trousseau syndrome]. / Hipercoagulabilidade neoplásica. A propósito de dois casos com Síndroma de Trousseau.

The authors describe two cases with venous thromboembolism and neoplasia (ovary and stomach), which also showed evidence of arterial thromboembolic phenomena--cerebrovascular disease in the 1st case and acute myocardial infarction in the 2nd case--favouring the existence of nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis. This presentation of neoplastic hypercoagulability is frequently underrated in clinical practice. Pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, etiology, and therapeutics of these syndromes are discussed in relation to the presented cases.

Growth control of experimental tumor by syngeneic thymocyte extracts.

The effect of cell-free extracts obtained from thymocytes of 8, 18 and 23 day fibrosarcoma-bearing U rats and normal U rats on tumor growth was investigated. The results show that thymocyte extracts of 8 day tumor-bearing rats inhibit the tumor growth in implanted animals and no significant effect was found with extracts from other times, or from normal thymocytes. Some of the inhibitory activity was lost by dialysis, which led us to assume that low molecular weight substances are involved in the antitumor immune response.