Angle Assessment for Upper Limb Rehabilitation: A Novel Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-Based Approach.

The accurate measurement of joint angles during patient rehabilitation is crucial for informed decision making by physiotherapists. Presently, visual inspection stands as one of the prevalent methods for angle assessment. Although it could appear the most straightforward way to assess the angles, it presents a problem related to the high susceptibility to error in the angle estimation. In light of this, this study investigates the possibility of using a new approach to angle calculation: a hybrid approach leveraging both a camera and LiDAR technology, merging image data with point cloud information. This method employs AI-driven techniques to identify the individual and their joints, utilizing the cloud-point data for angle computation. The tests, considering different exercises with different perspectives and distances, showed a slight improvement compared to using YOLO v7 for angle calculation. However, the improvement comes with higher system costs when compared with other image-based approaches due to the necessity of equipment such as LiDAR and a loss of fluidity during the exercise performance. Therefore, the cost-benefit of the proposed approach could be questionable. Nonetheless, the results hint at a promising field for further exploration and the potential viability of using the proposed methodology.

Correlation between macroscopic and microscopic relaxation dynamics of water: Evidence for two liquid forms.

Water is vital for life, and without it, biomolecules and cells cannot maintain their structures and functions. The remarkable properties of water originate from its ability to form hydrogen-bonding networks and dynamics, which the connectivity constantly alters because of the orientation rotation of individual water molecules. Experimental investigation of the dynamics of water, however, has proven challenging due to the strong absorption of water at terahertz frequencies. In response, by employing a high-precision terahertz spectrometer, we have measured and characterized the terahertz dielectric response of water from supercooled liquid to near the boiling point to explore the motions. The response reveals dynamic relaxation processes corresponding to the collective orientation, single-molecule rotation, and structural rearrangements resulting from breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds in water. We have observed the direct relationship between the macroscopic and microscopic relaxation dynamics of water, and the results have provided evidence of two liquid forms in water with different transition temperatures and thermal activation energies. The results reported here thus provide an unprecedented opportunity to directly test microscopic computational models of water dynamics.

Ophthalmic and immunopathological characterization of systemic infectious diseases in cats.

Ocular involvement in systemic diseases is frequent in cats; however, without concurrent clinical and ophthalmic examinations with gross and/or histologic analysis of the eye, these findings can be underdiagnosed. This article aims to provide gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics of ocular lesions from cats submitted to necropsy, focusing on those caused by systemic infectious agents. Cats that died due to a systemic infectious disease were selected based on necropsy diagnosis and presence of ocular lesions. Gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical findings were recorded. From April 2018 to September 2019, 849 eyes of 428 cats were evaluated. Histologic abnormalities were seen in 29% of cases, which were classified as inflammatory (41%), neoplastic (32%), degenerative (19%), and metabolic/vascular (8%). Macroscopic changes were present in one-third of eyes with histologic lesions. Of these, 40% were attributed to inflammatory or neoplastic diseases associated with infectious agents. The most important infectious agents causing ocular disease in this study were feline leukemia virus, feline infectious peritonitis virus, and Cryptococcus sp. The most common ocular abnormalities associated with infectious agents were uveitis (anterior, posterior, or panuveitis), optic neuritis, and meningitis of the optic nerve. Ocular lesions secondary to systemic infections in cats are frequent; however, these are not always diagnosed because gross lesions are less common than histologic lesions. Therefore, both gross and histologic evaluation of the eyes of cats is recommended, mainly for cases in which the clinical suspicion or necropsy diagnosis suggests that an infectious agent might be related to the cause of death.

Motor and somatosensory degenerative myelopathy responsive to pantothenic acid in piglets.

This report describes 2 events of degenerative myelopathy in 4- to 27-day-old piglets, with mortality rates reaching 40%. Sows were fed rations containing low levels of pantothenic acid. Piglets presented with severe depression, weakness, ataxia, and paresis, which were more pronounced in the pelvic limbs. No significant gross lesions were observed. Histologically, there were degeneration and necrosis of neurons in the spinal cord, primarily in the thoracic nucleus in the thoracic and lumbar segments, and motor neurons in nucleus IX of the ventral horn in the cervical and lumbar intumescence. Minimal-to-moderate axonal and myelin degeneration was observed in the dorsal funiculus of the spinal cord and in the dorsal and ventral nerve roots. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated depletion of acetylcholine neurotransmitters in motor neurons and accumulation of neurofilaments in the perikaryon of neurons in the thoracic nucleus and motor neurons. Ultrastructurally, the thoracic nucleus neurons and motor neurons showed dissolution of Nissl granulation. The topographical distribution of the lesions indicates damage to the second-order neurons of the spinocerebellar tract, first-order axon cuneocerebellar tract, and dorsal column-medial lemniscus pathway as the cause of the conscious and unconscious proprioceptive deficit, and damage to the alpha motor neuron as the cause of the motor deficit. Clinical signs reversed and no new cases occurred after pantothenic acid levels were corrected in the ration, and piglets received parenteral administration of pantothenic acid. This study highlights the important and practical use of detailed neuropathological analysis to refine differential diagnosis.

A Machine Learning Approach to Robot Localization Using Fiducial Markers in RobotAtFactory 4.0 Competition.

Localization is a crucial skill in mobile robotics because the robot needs to make reasonable navigation decisions to complete its mission. Many approaches exist to implement localization, but artificial intelligence can be an interesting alternative to traditional localization techniques based on model calculations. This work proposes a machine learning approach to solve the localization problem in the RobotAtFactory 4.0 competition. The idea is to obtain the relative pose of an onboard camera with respect to fiducial markers (ArUcos) and then estimate the robot pose with machine learning. The approaches were validated in a simulation. Several algorithms were tested, and the best results were obtained by using Random Forest Regressor, with an error on the millimeter scale. The proposed solution presents results as high as the analytical approach for solving the localization problem in the RobotAtFactory 4.0 scenario, with the advantage of not requiring explicit knowledge of the exact positions of the fiducial markers, as in the analytical approach.

Interfacial layers between ion and water detected by terahertz spectroscopy.

Dynamic fluctuations in the hydrogen-bond network of water occur from femto- to nanosecond timescales and provide insight into the structural/dynamical aspects of water at ion-water interfaces. Employing terahertz spectroscopy assisted with molecular dynamics simulations, we study aqueous chloride solutions of five monovalent cations, namely, Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs. We show that ions modify the behavior of the surrounding water molecules and form interfacial layers of water around them with physical properties distinct from those of bulk water. Small cations with high charge densities influence the kinetics of water well beyond the first solvation shell. At terahertz frequencies, we observe an emergence of fast relaxation processes of water with their magnitude following the ionic order Cs > Rb > K > Na > Li, revealing an enhanced population density of weakly coordinated water at the ion-water interface. The results shed light on the structure breaking tendency of monovalent cations and provide insight into the properties of ionic solutions at the molecular level.

A new highly divergent copiparvovirus in sheep.

The subfamily Parvovirinae within the family Parvoviridae consists of viruses that can infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts and cause effects ranging from severe disease to asymptomatic infection. In the present study, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) was utilized to analyze samples obtained from an abortion outbreak in a sheep flock to identify a putative viral etiology. A highly divergent nearly complete parvovirid genome sequence, approximately 4.9 kb in length, was determined. The nonstructural protein (NS1) amino acid (aa) sequence of this virus shared less than 30% identity with those of other copiparvoviruses and less than 22% identity with those of members of other genera in the subfamily Parvovirinae. Phylogenetically, this virus, which we have provisionally named "sheep copiparvovirus 1", formed a cluster with copiparvovirus sequences and should be classified as a member of a new species in the genus Copiparvovirus.

Gold-black manufacture, microstructure, and optical characterization.

A previous contribution formulates a first-principle dipole antenna theory for predicting the polarization-sensitive directional spectral absorptance of gold-black in the near infrared. The current contribution chronicles a successful effort to validate that theory. After a brief review of gold-black history, we describe in some detail the design and construction of a vapor-deposition cell for laying down gold-black coatings on a mirrorlike gold substrate. The microstructure of 4- and 8-µm-thick coatings is revealed using scanning electron microscopy. An automated bench-level reflectometer has been used to measure the in-plane bidirectional reflectivity of the gold-black coatings in the visible (532 nm) and near-infrared (800 nm) for p and s polarization. Measurements are reported over incident zenith angles ranging between 10 and 50 deg. Results obtained using the apparatus are consistent with the dipole antenna theory in this range of incident zenith angles.

Architecting hierarchical shell porosity of hollow prussian blue-derived iron oxide for enhanced Li storage.

Delicate architecture of active material enables improving the performacne of lithium ion batteries. Environmental-friendly Fe2 O3 anode has high theoretical specific capacity (1007 mAh g-1 ) in lithium ion batteries, but suffers from structural collapsing and poor electronic conductivity. Herein, we design an unique hierarchical iron oxide by regulating the initial precursor prussian blue and targeting hollow-shell structures with full consideration of temperature controls. Among them, Fe2 O3 with a sheet-crossing structure at 650°C, affords obvious advantages of improved electronic conductivity, short ionic diffusion length, prevented particle agglomeration, and buffer volume change. Thus, we achieve a superior discharge specific capacity of 611 mAh g-1 at 500 mA g-1 . Regulating hierarchical structure of prussian blue-assisted oxides enables effectively enchancing Li storge performance. LAY DESCRIPTION: Nanoparticle self-assembly, one of bottom-up methods is often used to prepare hollow hierarchical structures, whereas it suffers from low productivity and insufficient stability. Hence, we designed a unique hierarchical iron oxide by top-down method with regulating the initial precursor PB and targeting hollow-shell structures through full consideration of temperature controls. Delicate architecture of active material enables improving the performacne of lithium ion batteries. Environmental-friendly Fe2 O3 anode has high theoretical specific capacity (1007 mAh g-1 ) in lithium ion batteries, but suffers from structural collapsing and poor electronic conductivity. Hence, we prepared Prussian Blue (PB) materials with different sizes and calcined them at different temperatures. We found that no matter what the size of PB, the sheet-crossing morphology appeared at 650°C, and the interlaced morphology was the key to improve the performance of lithium batteries. If the size of PB precursor is too large or too small, it has adverse effects on lithium batteries. Only when the size and calcination temperature of PB precursor reach the optimum state, the best performance can be obtained. The calcination PB-K-3 at 650°C has a unique hierarchical structure of sheet-crossing. An obvious advantages include the prevention of particle agglomeration, short ionic diffusion lengths, and buffering volume changes. As a consequence, 611 mAh g-1 was obtained at the current density of 500 mA g-1 . In addition, we observed the structural changes of electrode plates at different reaction potentials, according to the reaction equation of Fe2 O3 +xLi+ +xe→Lix Fe2 O3 . With the proceeding charge process, the voltage increases from 0.01 to 3 V, the lithium ions gradually comes out of the iron oxide electrode surface. Whereas the discharging process reverses the aforementioned phenomena. Even if the changing volumes, however, the shape of cubic blocks for the PB-K-3 is preserved at different potentials. Taking these advantages into account, our designed MOFs-derived struture was an effective way to prepare hollow hierarchical structure with enhanced Li storage performacne. Such work is expected to facilitate the design of new electrode structure of lithium batteries.

Cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) and pentostatin (deoxycoformycin) against Trypanosoma cruzi.

The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the efficacy of cordycepin and pentostatin (alone or combined) against Trypanosoma cruzi, as well as the therapeutic efficiency of protocols of cordycepin and pentostatin combinations in mice experimentally infected with T. cruzi. In vitro, the cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) and pentostatin (deoxycoformycin) exerted potent trypanocidal effect against T. cruzi (Colombian strain), similarly to benznidazole, which is the reference drug. For epimastigotes, the lethal dose of cordycepin capable of killing 50% (LD50) and 20% (LD20) of the parasites was 0.072 and 0.031 mg/mL, respectively and for trypomastigotes was 0.047 and 0.015 mg/mL, respectively. The combined use of cordycepin and pentostatin resulted in a LD50 and LD20 for epimastigotes of 0.068 and 0.027 mg/mL, respectively, as well as 0.056 and 0.018 mg/mL for trypomastigotes, respectively. In vivo, the combined use of cordycepin and pentostatin did not show the expected curative effect, however it was able to control the parasitema in the peak period. In summary, the combination of cordycepin and pentostatin showed no curative effect in mice infected by T. cruzi, despite the in vitro reduction of epimastigotes and trypomastigotes.

Omphalitis, urachocystitis and septicemia by Streptococcus dysgalactiae in a southern right whale calf Eubalaena australis, Brazil.

Southern right whales Eubalaena australis (SRW) use the southern coast of Brazil as a wintering and calving ground. Other than anthropogenic threats, there is limited knowledge on health and disease aspects for this species. We report the gross and microscopic findings and microbiological identification of streptococcal septicemia in a SRW calf. Main gross findings included fibrinosuppurative omphalitis and urachocystitis, suppurative cystitis, valvular endocarditis and myocarditis, embolic pneumonia, suppurative myositis and osteoarthritis, and lymphadenomegaly. Histological examination confirmed the above inflammatory processes and indicated disseminated Gram-positive coccoid septicemia. PCR analysis, based on the 16S rRNA gene from bacteria isolated on blood agar, identified Streptococcus dysgalactiae. Pathologic and microbiologic analysis indicated that ß-hemolytic S. dysgalactiae septicemia, presumably initiated as ascending omphalic infection, was responsible for stranding and death in this individual. These results further confirm pathogenicity of streptococci in cetaceans and add to the limited health and disease related pathology knowledge for this species.

Treatment with 3'-deoxyadenosine and deoxycoformycin in mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi and its side effect on purinergic enzymes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 3'-deoxyadenosine and deoxycoformycin combination in the treatment of mice infected by T. cruzi, as well as to verify the influence of the treatment on purinergic enzymes. Heart and serum samples were collected from 60 mice (30 infected and 30 uninfected) at day 12 post-infection. To verify treatment efficacy, parasitemia was monitored, and the treatment with 3'-deoxy adenosine and deoxycoformycin combination was able to reduce it, but had no curative effect on mice. Seric activities of NTPDase (ATP and ADP substrate) and ADA were increased significantly in untreated mice infected by T. cruzi compared to the negative control, as well as mice treated with 3'-deoxyadenosine and deoxycoformycin (alone or combined) modulated the activity of NTPDase (ATP and ADP substrate), preventing them from increasing in infected animals (activity similar to healthy animals). Treatment with deoxycoformycin alone and associated with 3'-deoxyadenosine modulated the activity of ADA preventing them from increasing in infected animals. However, seric activities of ADA in mice treated with 3'-deoxyadenosine (cordycepin) alone does not modify the ADA activity compared with infected and non-treated mice. However, the 5'-nucleotidase activity decreased significantly in infected untreated animals and the same occurred in infected and treated animals with deoxycoformycin and 3'-deoxyadenosine. However, treatment with deoxycoformycin associated with 3'-deoxyadenosine preventing them from decreasing the 5'-nucleotidase activity. Therefore, we conclude that the treatments did not have curative success for mice infected by T. cruzi. However, the treatments were able to modulate the purinergic enzymes during the infection by T. cruzi, which may contribute to reduce the inflammatory damage in heart.

Diode-pumped mode-locked Tm:LuAG laser at 2 µm based on GaSb-SESAM.

Mode-locking of a directly diode-pumped Tm:LuAG laser is demonstrated using GaSb-based semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs). Stable and self-starting mode-locked operation was realized, generating pulses as short as 13.6 ps at 2024 nm with a maximum output power of 98 mW. Two GaInAs-based SESAMs were used for comparison with the operation based upon the use of the GaSb SESAM; in this case, longer pulses with durations of 27 ps and 34 ps were obtained under the same experimental conditions. Our work sets a new record in pulse duration for mode-locked Tm:LuAG lasers and confirms that lattice-matched GaSb-based SESAMs are beneficial for mode-locked solid-state lasers in the 2 µm range.

Growth and lasing performance of a Tm,Y:CaF2 crystal.

A Tm3+ ion and Y3+ ion co-doped CaF2 crystal was grown and characterized, in which spectral and lasing performance was presented for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Under diode end-pumping, in a continuous-wave regime, maximum output power of 453 mW was delivered under an absorption pump power of 2.5 W, corresponding to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 17.9% and a slope efficiency of 21%. With a birefringent quartz plate, wavelength-tunable operation with a tunable range of more than 190 nm was realized. The results show that Tm,Y:CaF2 is a promising laser crystal operating in a spectral region ranging from 1850 nm to 2050 nm.

Activities of ectonucleotidases and adenosine deaminase in platelets of cattle experimentally infected by Fasciola hepatica.

The enzymatic activities of NTPDase, 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase (ADA) are important in regulating the concentration of adenine nucleotides, molecules known to be involved on platelet aggregation. Fasciolosis causes coagulation disorders that have not been completely elucidated. Taking into consideration the association between the purinergic system and hemostasis, this study aimed to evaluate the enzymatic activities of NTPDase (hydrolyze ATP and ADP), 5'-nucleotidase (hydrolyze AMP) and ADA (deamination of adenosine) in platelets from cattle experimentally infected by Fasciola hepatica on days 20, 40, 60 and 80 post-infection (PI). For this study, 10 healthy Friesian steers were separated into two groups: the group A (n = 5) was used as uninfected control, and the group B was composed of steers experimentally infected by F. hepatica (n = 5). The number of platelets did not differ between groups in the periods evaluated. Reduction of NTPDase (p < 0.05) hydrolysing ATP (days 20, 40 and 60 PI), and ADP (days 40, 60 and 80 PI), and on 5'-nucleotidase hydrolyzing AMP (days 40 and 60 PI) was observed. A reduction (p < 0.05) in ADA activity on day 20 PI, as well as an increase (p < 0.05) in ADA activity on days 40 and 60 PI was observed when compared to the control. Based on these results, we can conclude that ATP, ADP and AMP hydrolysis and adenosine deamination were altered in platelets of cattle infected by F. hepatica. Considering the importance of the purinergic system in hemostasis, it is believed that those changes may contribute to the coagulation impairment observed in acute fasciolosis described in the literature.

Purinergic enzymatic activities in lymphocytes and cardiomyocytes of mice acutely infected by Trypanosoma cruzi modulating the inflammatory responses.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of purinergic enzymes in lymphocytes and cardiac tissue of mice experimentally infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. Twelve female mice were used, divided into two groups (n = 6): uninfected and infected. On day 12 post-infection (PI), the animals were anesthetized and after euthanized, and samples were collected for analyses. Infected mice showed reduction in erythrocyte counts, hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration, as well as reduced number of total leukocytes in consequence of neutrophilia (P < 0.01). The number of monocytes increased in infected mice (P < 0.001), however the number of lymphocytes and eosinophils did not differ between groups (P > 0.05). The E-NTPDase (ATP and ADP substrate) and E-ADA activities in lymphocytes increased significantly in mice infected by T. cruzi (P < 0.01). In the heart, multiple pseudocysts containing amastigotes within cardiomyocytes were observed, as well as focally extensive severe necrosis associated with diffuse moderate to severe inflammatory infiltrate of lymphocytes. Although, the NTPDase activity (ATP and ADP substrate) in the cardiac homogenate did not differ between groups, a reduction on 5'-nucleotidase activity (P < 0.001) and an increase in the ADA activity in infected animals (P < 0.05) were observed. Thus, animals infected by T. cruzi experienced the disease, i.e., showed anemia, leucopenia, and heart lesions. Associated with this, purinergic enzymes showed altered activities, which might be related to the modulation of the inflammatory response.

Hepatic and seric levels of purines in rats experimentally infected by Fasciola hepatica.

The aim of this study was to evaluate hepatic and seric levels of purines, as well as their breakdown products in rats infected by Fasciola hepatica on days 15 and 87 post-infection (PI). Rats were divided into two groups: uninfected (n = 10) and infected (n = 20). On day 15 (n = 5 for uninfected group and n = 10 for infected group) and 87 PI (n = 5 for uninfected group and n = 10 for infected group), animals were euthanized for sampling to evaluate levels of purines by high-performance liquid chromatography. In serum, ATP increased (P < 0.05) and ADP decreased (P < 0.05) on days 15 and 87 PI, while AMP increased (P < 0.05) only on day 15 PI. Hypoxanthine levels increased (P < 0.05) on days 15 and 87 PI, while adenosine and xanthine levels decreased and increased (P < 0.05), respectively, on day 87 PI. No difference was observed regarding seric inosine and uric acid (P > 0.05). Hepatic ATP, adenosine, and uric acid levels decreased (P < 0.05) on days 15 and 87 PI. AMP levels decreased (P < 0.05) on day 87 PI, while xanthine levels increased (P < 0.05) on day 15 PI in the liver. Also in the liver, hypoxanthine levels increased (P < 0.05) on day 15 PI and decreased (P < 0.05) on day 87 PI. On the other hand, there was no difference on hepatic ADP and inosine levels (P > 0.05). Therefore, it is possible to conclude that F. hepatica infection can change purine levels, which may be associated with an inflammatory process, and these alterations may influence fasciolosis pathogenesis.

Is vertebroplasty a risk factor for subsequent vertebral fracture, meta-analysis of published evidence?

UNLABELLED: In our paper, we systemically retrieved the eligible study evaluating whether increased incidence of subsequent vertebral fracture is associated with vertebroplasty. Main effect sizes were vertebral fracture rates reported in terms of hazard ratio (HR) for time-to-event data or relative risk (RR) for dichotomous outcome. Our results do not support the hypothesis that vertebroplasty contributes to increased risk of subsequent vertebral fracture, neither adjacent nor total vertebral fracture. INTRODUCTION: Vertebroplasty has been implicated in significant changes in vertebral strength, vertebral shape, and consequently increased risk for subsequent vertebral fracture, especially the adjacent level. Here, we further tested the hypothesis whether new-onset vertebral fracture is a natural result of osteoporosis or consequence of cement augmentation. METHODS: Relevant literatures were retrieved using PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), supplemented by a hand-search of the reference lists of selected articles. Eligible studies assessed whether increased morbidity of subsequent vertebral fracture is associated with vertebroplasty. Main effect sizes were vertebral fracture rates reported in terms of hazard ratio (HR) for time-to-event data or relative risk (RR) for dichotomous outcome. Random-effects model was used to account for clinical or methodological heterogeneity across studies. RESULTS: Thirteen studies with a number of 2,551 individuals (1,631 in vertebroplasty group and 920 in control group) were suitable for this meta-analysis. In trials that reported adjacent vertebral fracture as time-to-event data (two trials, n = 328), we found a similar incidence of vertebral fracture in percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) group compared to conservative therapy (HR 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.29 to 1.26; P = 0.18). In trials that reported overall vertebral fracture as time-to-event data (three trials, n = 704), vertebroplasty was associated with a slightly increased but non-significant risk for vertebral fracture (HR 1.14, 95% confidence interval 0.65 to 2.00; P = 0.65). The outcome was further confirmed in the secondary meta-analysis of studies that reported vertebral fracture as dichotomous data. Subgroup analysis according to study design revealed no difference either. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support the hypothesis that vertebroplasty contributes to increased risk of subsequent vertebral fracture, neither adjacent nor total vertebral fracture. However, adequately designed randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm the present findings.

Oxidative stress associated with pathological lesions in the liver of rats experimentally infected by Fasciola hepatica.

The aim of this study was to analyze the antioxidant status and oxidative profile in serum and liver of rats experimentally infected with Fasciola hepatica and its relationship with pathological findings. Twenty-four rats were divided into two groups: group A consisted of 12 healthy rats and group B of 12 rats infected orally with 20 metacercaria of F. hepatica. At days 20 and 150 post-infection (PI), blood and liver samples of six animals from each group were collected. The protein oxidation (AOPP technique: advanced oxidation protein products) and antioxidants (FRAP technique: ferric reducing antioxidant power) levels were measured in serum and liver. Furthermore, nitrite/nitrate (NOx) levels and lipid peroxidation (TBARS technique: thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) were measured in liver. AOPP and FRAP levels were increased (P < 0.05) in serum and liver of infected animals in acute and chronic infection when compared with healthy animals. The same occurred with TBARS and NOx levels in the liver (P < 0.05). Histopathology revealed periportal fibrous hepatitis, composed of an abundant inflammatory infiltrate in portal spaces on infected animals, as well as bile duct hyperplasia. The results found seem to be related to the host free radical production demonstrated in serum samples and liver due to the parasite infection.

Cannabinoid-induced autophagy regulates suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 in intestinal epithelium.

Autophagy is a catabolic process involved in homeostatic and regulated cellular protein recycling and degradation via the lysosomal degradation pathway. Emerging data associate impaired autophagy, increased activity in the endocannabinoid system, and upregulation of suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3) protein expression during intestinal inflammation. We have investigated whether these three processes are linked. By assessing the impact of the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD), the synthetic cannabinoid arachidonyl-2'-chloroethylamide (ACEA), and the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) on autophagosome formation, we explored whether these actions were responsible for cyclic SOCS3 protein levels. Our findings show that all three cannabinoids induce autophagy in a dose-dependent manner in fully differentiated Caco-2 cells, a model of mature intestinal epithelium. ACEA and AEA induced canonical autophagy, which was cannabinoid type 1 receptor-mediated. In contrast, CBD was able to bypass the cannabinoid type 1 receptor and the canonical pathway to induce autophagy, albeit to a lesser extent. Functionally, all three cannabinoids reduced SOCS3 protein expression, which was reversed by blocking early and late autophagy. In conclusion, the regulatory protein SOCS3 is regulated by autophagy, and cannabinoids play a role in this process, which could be important when therapeutic applications for the cannabinoids in inflammatory conditions are considered.