A new 5-alkylresorcinol glucoside derivative from Cybianthus magnus.

One new 5-alkylresorcinol glucoside (1) was isolated from leaves of Cybianthus magnus, along with 12 known compounds (2-13), isolated from four plants belonging to Myrsinaceae family. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of their spectral data with those reported in the literature. Among the tested molecules, only compound 2 displayed a strong cytotoxic activity with IC50 values ranging between 22 and 100 µM for all cell lines tested. One new 5-alkylresorcinol glucoside (1) was isolated from leaves of Cybianthus magnus, along with 12 known compounds, isolated from four plants belonging to Myrsinaceae family (2, 3 isolated from C. magnus; 4-7, 10 and 11 isolated from Myrsine latifolia; 4, 8 and 9 isolated from Myrsine sessiflora; 6, 7, 10, 12 and 13 isolated from Myrsine congesta). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of their spectral data with those reported in the literature. So far, only nine 5-alkylresorcinol glucosides were isolated from leaves of Grevillea robusta. Since resorcinols are known to exhibit strong cytotoxic activity, compounds 1 and 2 were tested against cell lines 3T3, H460, DU145 and MCF-7 for cytotoxicity in vitro and compounds 3-13 were tested for their antileishmanial activity. Compound 2 displayed a strong cytotoxic activity with IC50 values ranging between 22 and 100 µM for all tested cell lines. Compounds 3-13 were not active against Leishmania amazonensis amastigotes.

The Diabcare-Asia 1998 study--outcomes on control and complications in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to describe the glycaemic and metabolic control and diabetes-related complications in type 1 and type 2 Asian patients. METHODS: Data of diabetes patients from 230 diabetes centres in 12 Asian regions were collected on a retrospective-prospective basis through review of medical records, interview and laboratory assessments. Analysis of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was carried out in central laboratories appointed by Bio-Rad. The data collection case record forms were scanned electronically. RESULTS: 22177 patients with valid data made up the analysis population. Among patents with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, there was a higher proportion of women than men (53% vs. 47% for type 1 patients and 56% vs. 44% for type 2 diabetes). Hypertension (61%) and overweight (40% with BMI > or = 25 kg/m2 were common in type 2 patients. Dyslipidaemia was also present in at least half of both types of patients. Control of glycaemia (mean HbA,1c and fasting blood glucose [FBG]) was poor in type 1 (9.9 +/- 2.5%; 10.2 +/- 5.2 mmol/l) and type 2 patients (8.5 +/- 2.0%; 8.9 +/- 3.4 mmol/l). Glycaemia in the majority of both types of patients fell short of those stipulated by various guidelines. In type 2 patients, glycaemia deteriorated (HbA1c > 7.5%, FBG > or = 7.0 mmol/l) with duration of diabetes > 7 years. Both types of diabetes appear to share a similar high prevalence of complications of cataract, retinopathy and neuropathy, although the prevalence of cataract (27%) and neuropathy (35%) was higher in type 2 diabetes. Screening for microalbuminuria was not common. CONCLUSIONS: The Inadequate metabolic and hypertension control, especially in type 2 patients, needs to be addressed.

[Diagnostic imaging of tracheobronchial tuberculosis. Apropos of a case]. / Imagerie de la sténose trachéo-bronchique tuberculeuse. A propos d'une observation.

We report a new case of tracheo-bronchial tuberculosis. Diagnosis was suggested on CT examination first and then confirmed by endoscopy and bacteriological examinations. We discuss the possible mechanisms of stenosis. We present the radiological features of tracheo-bronchial tuberculosis, mainly helical CT features and we discuss and illustrate differential diagnosis. We emphasize the role of 3 D and multiplanar reconstructed CT images that may help visualizing the stenosis at different levels, its craniocaudal extent as well as the boundaries between the stenosis and surrounding tissues. Moreover helical CT appears superior to bronchofibroscopy in diagnosing peribronchial infiltration.

How many nucleotides are required to resolve a phylogenetic problem? The use of a new statistical method applicable to available sequences.

The evolution of bootstrap proportions (BP) with sequence length was studied using a 28S ribosomal RNA data set. For different sequence lengths, informative sites were jackknifed several times. Bootstrapping was subsequently performed on each of these subsamples. For each node, BPs so obtained were plotted against sequence length, showing the evolution of the robustness with increasing number of informative sites. For robust nodes (BP of 100%), the pattern of BPs is unvarying and is described by a simple function BP = 100 (1-e-b(x-x')), where x is the number of informative sites and b and x' are two parameters estimated using a nonlinear regression procedure. When a node has a BP < 100% and the pattern of BPs fits this function, it is possible to estimate the number of informative sites required to obtain a given average BP. The method also identifies nonrobust nodes (nonascending clusters of BP dots), for which it seems to be more cost effective and fruitful to turn to other species and/or genes rather than to continue sequencing longer gene lengths from the same species to reach a BP of 95%.

Species sampling has a major impact on phylogenetic inference.

Representative properties of gnathostome species of a rich 28S rRNA data base were studied through the analysis of the fluctuations they provoked in bootstrap proportions (BPs) of nodes of parsimonious trees. Using original programs which permit BP comparison between different trees, it is empirically demonstrated that 4- to 24-species-trees are highly sensitive to species sampling: the inferences obtained from subsets of 4, 8, 16, or 24 species are not congruent with the whole set of 31 species. Study of trees obtained from exhaustively sampling all combinations of single species taken from each presumed monophyletic group shows precisely the impact of each species on the BP of each node. This procedure also shows that the impact of species changes within a given group on tree BPs is localized to its two or three neighboring nodes. The observation of differing impacts of species emphasizes the importance of sampling several species per presumed monophyletic group. It is also concluded that it is necessary to sample several successive outgroups and that the impact of a species on BPs depends mainly on the sampling context. Before undertaking extensive sequencing, the impact of species should be more often considered, since its effect on BPs is stronger than previously thought.

A 28S rRNA-based phylogeny of the gnathostomes: first steps in the analysis of conflict and congruence with morphologically based cladograms.

Approximately 500 nucleotides of 28S rRNA of 31 species of gnathostomes have been sequenced in order to study the phylogeny of the major fish lineages. In maximum parsimony trees, nodes congruent with those of the morphologically based cladogram were found to be robust (chondrichthyans, neopterygians, euteleosteans), but some expected monophyletic groups were not found to be so (lissamphibians, tetrapods, osteichthyans). Possible causes for these discrepancies are discussed. Some non-congruent nodes were significantly supported (elopomorph-osteoglossomorph sister-group relationships and clupeomorph-ostariophysan relationships) and the need for new morphological character analysis is discussed. In addition, the relationships of major gnathostome lineages (chondrichthyans, actinopterygians, sarcopterygyans) could not be resolved and the possibility of their rapid evolutionary radiation is examined. This result is strikingly similar to those obtained from approximately 1800 nucleotides of 18S rRNA. Variations in the robustness of some nodes depending on the species sample were observed. This has led to a systematic study of the effect of species sampling on bootstrap values described in a companion paper (G. Lecointre, H. Philippe, H. L. V. Lê, and H. Le Guyader, submitted for publication).

[Preliminary molecular phylogeny of the fishes based on sequence analysis of 28S ribosomal RNA]. / Phylogénie moléculaire préliminaire des "poissons" basée sur l'analyse de séquences d'ARN ribosomique 28S.

"Fish" phylogeny has been studied using partial 28 S ribosomal RNA sequences of 14 species among which 12 are "fish" ranging from lamprey to perciforms. Our results are in good agreement with generally accepted cladograms based on anatomical and paleontological data. Two interesting conclusions emerged: a) Polypterus is the sister-group of all other actinopterygians; b) the divergences of the Clasdistia, Tetrapoda and Chondrichthyes seem to have occurred during a relatively short period of time.