Influencia de la vía de administración sobre el efecto del extracto etanólico de la semilla de Jatropha curcas L, en la motilidad intestinal en ratones albinos / Influence of the route of administration on the effect of ethanol extract of the Jatropha curcas L. seeds, on gut motility of albino mice

Objetivo: Determinar la influencia de la vía de administración sobre efecto de distintas dosis del extracto etanólico de la semilla de Jatropha curcas L en la motilidad intestinal de ratones. Materiales y Métodos: Se utilizaron ratones albinos machos con un peso promedio de 23 g, a los que, por vía oral e intraperitoneal, y a dosis escalonadas y no tóxicas, se les administraron extracto etanólico de la semilla de Jatropha curcas L. Los grupos experimentales fueron: suero fisiológico 0,1 mL/10 g, atropina 1 mg/Kg, extracto etanólico de semilla de Jatropha curcas L. 500, 750 y 1000 mg/Kg, respectivamente, y neostigmina 0,4 mg/Kg. Para la validación estadística se usó ANOVA con post-hoc de Sidak. Resultados: Se encontró diferencias significativas al analizar los porcentajes de motilidad intestinal de todos los grupos, sin embargo, al realizar la comparación por parejas solo se halló diferencias entre los grupos que recibieron atropina y neoestigmina (p=0,038), J. curcas L. vía oral a dosis de 500 mg/Kg y 1000 mg/Kg (p=0,001 en ambos casos). Se encontraron diferencias significativas (p>0,05) en las comparaciones entre la administración por vía oral y por vía peritoneal del extracto de J. curcas L. a dosis de 500 mg/Kg y 1000 mg/Kg. Conclusión: Se encontró influencia de la vía de administración, sobre el efecto del extracto etanólico de Jatropha curcas L. en la la motilidad intestinal en ratones albinos.

Objectives. To determine the influence of administration route of Jatropha curcas L. seeds ethanolic extract (in different doses) on intestinal motility of albino mice. Methods. Male albino mice were used with an average weight of 23 g., which the ethanolic extract of Jatropha curcas L. seeds were administered in different administration routes (oral and intraperitoneal), using staggered and non-toxic doses. The experimental groups were 0,1 mL/10 g physiological saline, atropine 1mg/Kg, neostigmine 0.4 mg/kg and Jatropha curcas L seed ethanolic extract in doses of 500, 750 and 1000mg/kg. One-way ANOVA test with Sidak post-hoc test were used to do a statistical inferences. Results. Significant differences were found when all-groups intestinal charcoal transit distance (%) were analyzed. However, when paired comparisons were made, significant differences were found between neostigmine group (p=0,038); and oral administration of J curcas L extracts in doses of 500 mg/Kg and 1000 mg/Kg (p=0.001 in both cases). Significant differences were found (p>0.05) in comparisons made between orally and intraperitoneal administration of J. curcas L. extract in doses of 500 mg/Kg and 1000 mg/Kg. Conclusion. There is some influence caused by route of administration of Jathropa curcas L. seeds ethanolic extract on intestinal motility in albino mice.

Successful recovery after disseminated infection due to mycobacterium abscessus in a lung transplant patient: subcutaneous nodule as first manifestation--a case report.

Mycobacterium abscessus infection following lung transplantation (LT) has been described in a few cases. It is characterized by a variable initial location and subsequent course in this special risk group of patients, particularly those with cystic fibrosis (CF). Herein we have presented the case of a patient subjected to LT due to CF, who 1 year after transplantation developed a subcutaneous nodule produced by M abscessus, with subsequent hematogenous spread as well as bronchial and bone marrow involvement. Antecedents prior to LT included Staphylococcus aureus colonization and sputum positivity for Aspergillus fumigatus and Scedosporium apioespermum. Treatment with ciprofloxacin and linezolid was started on the basis of the antibiogram findings. The latter antibiotic was replaced by clarithromycin for 6 months. Two years later, the patient remains asymptomatic with respiratory function parameters in the normal range. The infected patient described herein was our only case with sepsis and multisystemic spread. The important mortality among such cases reported in the literature makes early diagnosis and treatment essential.

Antimutagenic effect of fruit and vegetable ethanolic extracts against N-nitrosamines evaluated by the Ames test.

The inhibitory effect of nine fruit and vegetable ethanolic extracts against the mutagenicity of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR), N-nitrosodibutylamine (NDBA), and N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) was evaluated by means of the Ames test. Licorice ethanolic extract was the only one that showed an inhibitory effect (ranging from moderate to strong) against mutagenicity of all N-nitrosamines tested. This ethanolic extract showed the greatest inhibition effect against NPIP (72%), NDMA (45%), and NPYR (39%). The greatest inhibition effect (51%) of the mutagenicity of NDBA was shown by kiwi ethanolic extract. Vegetable and fruit ethanolic extracts that exhibited an antimutagenic effect (at the range 50-2000 microg/plate), in decreasing order, against NDMA and NPYR were as follows: licorice > kiwi > carrot and licorice > broccoli > pineapple > kiwi, respectively. Decreasing orders against NDBA and NPIP were, respectively, kiwi > onion > licorice = garlic > green pepper > carrot and licorice > garlic > pineapple > carrot.

Assays of the biological activities of two fatty acid derivatives formed in the edible mushrooms cantharellus cibarius and C. tubaeformis as a response to injury.

Cibaric acid (1) and 10-hydroxy-8-decenoic acid (2) are two fatty acid derivatives that are formed in the fruit bodies of Cantharellus cibarius (chanterelle) and C. tubaeformis as a response to injury. Unlike the potent defensive sesquiterpenes formed in injured fruit bodies of the pungent Lactarius species, compounds 1 and 2 only possess very weak antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity. Compound 2 was found to be a very weak direct-acting mutagen in the Ames test (<1 revertant/microgram and plate), while cibaric acid (1) was inactive in this assay. As 1 is destroyed during cooking, there are currently no reasons for suspecting that the consumption of C. cibarius poses a risk to consumers.

[Patients with chronic airflow limitation: effects of the inspiratory muscle training with threshold load valve, built with appropriate technology, associated to nutritional support]. / Pacientes con limitación crónica al flujo aéreo: efectos del entrenamiento muscular respiratorio con válvula de carga umbral construida con tecnología apropiada, asociado a apoyo nutricional.

AIM: To assess prospectively the effects of a controlled program of inspiratory muscle training program and nutritional support in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with COPD were randomly assigned into four groups. Group I received a 1000 kcal/day nutritional supplement, given as a casein based enteral nutritional formula; group III was subjected to inspiratory muscle training, using an inexpensive pressure threshold load valve constructed according to the Appropriate Technology principles of the WHO, adjusted at 30% of Maximal Inspiratory Mouth Pressure and received also the nutritional supplement; group IV was trained but did not receive the nutritional supplement and group II was not trained nor supplemented. Patients were studied during three months and monthly, inspiratory muscle function, exercise capacity and anthropometry were measured. RESULTS: A significant improvement in exercise capacity, maximal inspiratory pressure and inspiratory muscle endurance was observed in the four groups throughout the study. Trained subjects had greater improvement in their inspiratory muscle endurance, compared to untrained subjects. Nutritional support had no effect in inspiratory muscle function or exercise capacity. No changes in anthropometric measures were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The pressure threshold load valve used in this study, improved inspiratory muscle endurance and nutritional support had no effect in patients with COPD.

The cultural construction of childhood diarrhoea in rural Nicaragua: relevance for epidemiology and health promotion.

As a component of a series of studies of childhood diarrhoea in rural Nicaragua, lay knowledge regarding the condition and its appropriate management has been investigated through semistructured interviews with 70 mothers. These data have been combined with information from focus group discussions and observations from investigators who have been resident in the study area for many years. For any episode of childhood diarrhoea, the lay nosology influences the treatment path followed. Thus for some types of diarrhoea, treatment at a health centre or health post and the use of rehydration fluids is seen to be appropriate, while for other types the use of traditional healers or home-based treatment, often explicitly without the use of rehydration fluids, is applicable. The implications of lay nosological systems for the interpretation of epidemiological studies and for the implementation of health promotion programmes are discussed.

Acrosome intact and acrosome-reacted human sperm can initiate binding to the zona pellucida.

Mammalian sperm must be acrosome reacted before penetrating the zona pellucida. In some species the sperm undergo the acrosome reaction before binding to the zona pellucida and in other species only acrosome intact sperm can initiate binding to the zona. In this study we addressed the question of acrosomal status and sperm-zona binding with human gametes. Sperm acrosome reactions were induced by treatment with human follicular fluid or N-(6-amino-hexyl)-5-chloro-naphthalene sulfonamide (W-7). The sperm suspensions, containing various percentages of acrosome-reacted sperm, were then incubated with human oocytes for 1 min. The acrosomal status of the sperm population bound to the zona was similar to the acrosomal status of the population of sperm in suspension (R2 = 0.77), regardless of the treatment to induce acrosome reactions. Our interpretation of these results is that both acrosome intact and acrosome-reacted human sperm can initiate binding to the zona pellucida. However, we reported earlier (N. L. Cross, P. Morales, J. W. Overstreet, and F. W. Hanson, 1988, Biol. Reprod. 38, 235-244) that the human zona pellucida is able to induce acrosome reactions. Thus, to exclude the possibility that sperm had undergone the acrosome reaction on the zona within 1 min of binding, sperm were suspended in a nominally calcium-free Tyrode's medium (0 Ca-mTyr) before incubation with oocytes (this medium was supplemented with SrCl2 and spermine to support sperm motility and zona binding). In 0 Ca-mTyr, the proportion of acrosome-reacted sperm on the zona was still highly correlated with the proportion of reacted sperm in suspension, indicating that the sperm were reacted before binding. Evidence that 0 Ca-mTyr effectively inhibited acrosome reactions induced by the zona pellucida was derived from experiments in which sperm were treated with human follicular fluid or control medium and the suspensions were diluted with either 0 Ca-mTyr or control medium.4+ Human oocytes were added for 1 min (pulse) at which time some oocytes were fixed and other oocytes were transferred to sperm-free medium and incubated for 35 min (chase) before fixation. Sperm diluted in control medium, pretreated with either human follicular fluid or control medium, showed a similar increase (40%) in the percentage of acrosome reactions among the zona-bound sperm after the chase. Sperm diluted in 0 Ca-mTyr did not show an increase in the percentage of acrosome-reacted sperm on the zona pellucida after the chase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Jejunal conduits: technique and complications.

Thirty patients underwent jejunal urinary diversion: 27 bilateral cutaneous ureterojejunostomies, 2 cutaneous pyeloureterojejunostomies and 1 bilateral pyelocutaneous jejunostomy. In the majority of the cases this high diversion was indicated for malignant disease with preoperative and postoperative irradiation of the pelvis. Postoperative morbidity in these cases is not different from thatin cases of ileal conduit operation, except for a high incidence of reversible hypochloremic acidosis with hyponatremia, hyperkalemia and uremia. This electrolytic syndrome is the consequence of a continuous exchange of ions between the jejunal content and the extracellular fluid with resultant loss of sodium chloride and absorption of potassium and urea. An important link in the pathophysiology of the jejunal syndrome is the hypersecretion of renin-aldosterone, which aggravates the disturbance. Limited renal function (glomerular filtration rate less than 50 cc per minute), long loop and inadequate salt intake are among contributing factors. The syndrome is correctable by administration of salt. Some patients must be placed on salt supplement indefinitely. The jejunum is not recommended for urinary diversion in patients with limited renal function, those on low salt diet or those in whom a long intestinal loop would be required for diversion.