In vitro and in vivo evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity and free radical scavenging potential of leaves extract from Anadenanthera colubrina.

The present study highlights the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities from Anadenanthera colubrina leaves ethanolic extract (EEAc) and its phytochemical profile. The chemical profile of EEAc was determined and in vitro free radical scavenging potential, cell viability in RAW 264.7 and in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity were evaluated. The analysis of EEAc showed several phenolic compounds such as tannins and phenolic acids. The high antioxidant potential observed is possibly due to its high phenolic content. The EEAc (500 mg kg-1) showed an in vivo effect at the same level of dexamethasone; in vitro, at 50 µg mL-1, inhibited approximately 80% of nitric oxide production concentration, showed an inhibition of more than 50% of TNF-α production and presented high cell viability. The results show that A. colubrina leaves are an important source of phytochemicals that possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Imaging in gynecological disease (16): clinical and ultrasound characteristics of serous cystadenofibromas in adnexa.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and ultrasound characteristics of serous cystadenofibromas in the adnexa. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients identified in the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) database, who had a histological diagnosis of serous cystadenofibroma and had undergone preoperative ultrasound examination by an experienced ultrasound examiner, between 1999 and 2012. In the IOTA database, which contains data collected prospectively, the tumors were described using the terms and definitions of the IOTA group. In addition, three authors reviewed, first independently and then together, ultrasound images of serous cystadenofibromas and described them using pattern recognition. RESULTS: We identified 233 women with a histological diagnosis of serous cystadenofibroma. In the IOTA database, most cystadenofibromas (67.4%; 157/233) were described as containing solid components but 19.3% (45/233) were described as multilocular cysts and 13.3% (31/233) as unilocular cysts. Papillary projections were described in 52.4% (122/233) of the cystadenofibromas. In 79.5% (97/122) of the cysts with papillary projections, color Doppler signals were absent in the papillary projections. Most cystadenofibromas (83.7%; 195/233) manifested no or minimal color Doppler signals. On retrospective analysis of 201 ultrasound images of serous cystadenofibromas, using pattern recognition, 10 major types of ultrasound appearance were identified. The most common pattern was a unilocular solid cyst with one or more papillary projections, but no other solid components (25.9%; 52/201). The second most common pattern was a multilocular solid mass with small solid component(s), but no papillary projections (19.4%; 39/201). The third and fourth most common patterns were multi- or bilocular cyst (16.9%; 34/201) and unilocular cyst (11.9%; 24/201). Using pattern recognition, shadowing was identified in 39.8% (80/201) of the tumors, and microcystic appearance of the papillary projections was observed in 34 (38.6%) of the 88 tumors containing papillary projections. CONCLUSIONS: The ultrasound features of serous cystadenofibromas vary. The most common pattern is a unilocular solid cyst with one or more papillary projections but no other solid components, with absent color Doppler signals. Most serous cystadenofibromas were poorly vascularized on color Doppler examination and many manifested acoustic shadowing. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Changes in endometrial transcription of TLR2, TLR4, and CD14 during the first-week postpartum in dairy cows with retained placenta.

Changes in the endometrial transcription of pattern recognition receptors may increase the susceptibility to postpartum uterine infections in Holstein cows with retained placenta. To test this hypothesis, nine cows with retained placenta and ten cows without retained placenta were submitted to endometrial biopsies at the first and seventh days postpartum. Cows were monitored weekly with clinical and gynecological examinations until 42 days postpartum. Samples of the uterine contents were collected weekly for aerobic bacteria isolation. All cows had endometrial transcription of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) 1/6, 2, 4, 5, and 9; nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors 1 and 2; and the coreceptors cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) and myeloid differentiation protein-2 (MD-2), as measured on the first and seventh days postpartum. Escherichia coli was the most common bacterium isolated from the uterine contents of cows with or without retained placenta until 21 days postpartum. Transcription levels of TLR2, TLR4, and CD14 in Holstein cows with retained placenta significantly decreased (P < 0.05) between the first and the seventh day postpartum. Conversely, cows without retained placenta did not have any significant changes in transcription levels between these time points.

Imaging in gynecological disease (9): clinical and ultrasound characteristics of tubal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To describe clinical history and ultrasound findings in patients with tubal carcinoma. METHODS: Patients with a histological diagnosis of tubal cancer who had undergone preoperative ultrasound examination were identified from the databases of 13 ultrasound centers. The tumors were described by the principal investigator at each contributing center on the basis of ultrasound images, ultrasound reports and research protocols (when applicable) using the terms and definitions of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) group. In addition, three authors reviewed together all available digital ultrasound images and described them using subjective evaluation of gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound findings. RESULTS: We identified 79 women with a histological diagnosis of primary tubal cancer, 70 of whom (89%) had serous carcinomas and 46 (58%) of whom presented at FIGO stage III. Forty-nine (62%) women were asymptomatic (incidental finding), whilst the remaining 30 complained of abdominal bloating or pain. Fifty-three (67%) tumors were described as solid at ultrasound examination, 14 (18%) as multilocular solid, 10 (13%) as unilocular solid and two (3%) as unilocular. No tumor was described as a multilocular mass. Most tumors (70/79, 89%) were moderately or very well vascularized on color or power Doppler ultrasound. Normal ovarian tissue was identified adjacent to the tumor in 51% (39/77) of cases. Three types of ultrasound appearance were identified as being typical of tubal carcinoma using pattern recognition: a sausage-shaped cystic structure with solid tissue protruding into it like a papillary projection (11/62, 18%); a sausage-shaped cystic structure with a large solid component filling part of the cyst cavity (13/62, 21%); an ovoid or oblong completely solid mass (36/62, 58%). CONCLUSIONS: A well vascularized ovoid or sausage-shaped structure, either completely solid or with large solid component(s) in the pelvis, should raise the suspicion of tubal cancer, especially if normal ovarian tissue is seen adjacent to it.

The sonographic prediction of invasive carcinoma in unilocular-solid ovarian cysts in premenopausal patients: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Unilocular-solid ovarian cysts are a rare but challenging pathology in young women, with a desire to spare their fertility. In these cases, the risks of borderline and invasive disease are around 10 and 20%, respectively. No ultrasound rule has yet demonstrated the ability to discriminate with high accuracy, a borderline tumor from a benign tumor or 'invasive tumor'. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive performance of different ultrasound parameters in differentiating benign and borderline tumors versus invasive malignant tumors in premenopausal patients with unilocular-solid ovarian masses. METHODS: Women aged ≤ 50 years with unilocular-solid adnexal masses with a maximum diameter ≤ 10 cm, undergoing surgery in our department within 3 months from ultrasound examination, were included in this retrospective study. A standardized ultrasound examination technique and predefined definitions of ultrasound characteristics were used. The results of ultrasound examination using gray scale and color Doppler were compared with the histological examination of the respective surgical specimens. RESULTS: The study included 51 patients. On histological examination, 36 (70%) lesions were classified as benign, 10 (20%) as borderline ovarian tumors and 5 (10%) as invasively malignant tumors. In receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, the best cut-off for the largest solid component with regard to discriminating non-invasive (benign or borderline) from invasive tumors was 14 mm. A largest solid component >14 mm, the presence of papillation blood flow and the combination of the two parameters provided a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 63, 63 and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal ultrasound examination seems to be able to discriminate between invasive and non-invasive tumors in the premenopausal patients with unilocular-solid adnexal masses. Because of the retrospective nature of the study, further prospective clinical trials are needed to confirm the accuracy of the selected sonographic parameters in discriminating the invasive and non-invasive adnexal tumors.

Polaridades conceituais e tensões teóricas no campo da Psicologia: o falso paradoxo indivíduo/coletividade / Conceptual polarities and theoretical tensions in the field of Psychology: the individual / collective false paradox / Polaridades conceptuales y tensiones teóricas en el campo de la Psicología: la falsa paradoja individuo / colectividad

O presente artigo analisa as polaridades que dificultam o diálogo entre os psicólogos e o estudo da Psicologia e argumenta que as tensões decorrentes estão mais associadas às ações utilizadas para lidar com o problema do que às questões teóricas propriamente. Essas tensões procedem de relações complexas que não podem ser reduzidas aos respectivos polos e que devem ser examinadas em diferentes níveis de análise. O argumento é ilustrado com relação ao individual e ao coletivo no contexto da Psicologia organizacional. Conclui-se que o encaminhamento dos dilemas e das tensões no campo com repercussões importantes na formação e na prática profissional requer superação dos nossos aprisionamentos teórico-metodológicos, convivência com a pluralidade teórico-metodológica e integração crítica e construtiva das muitas perspectivas que elucidam a natureza e a manifestação de um fenômeno.(AU)

This article examines the polarities that hinder dialogue among psychologists and the study of the discipline. The argument points out that the tensions are associated more strongly to the actions used to deal with the problem than to theoretical issues properly. These tensions stem from a complex relationship which cannot be reduced to their respective poles and must be examined on different levels of analysis. The argument is illustrated with the relationship individual-collectivity from organizational psychology context. The study concludes that the routing of the dilemmas and tensions in the psychological field and training requires overcoming our theoretical and methodological lockups, coping with the theoretical and methodological plurality, and pursuing a critical and constructive integration from the many perspectives that elucidate the nature and manifestation of the psychological phenomena.(AU)

El presente artículo analiza las polaridades que dificultan el diálogo entre los psicólogos y el estudio de la Psicología y argumenta que las tensiones derivadas están más asociadas a las acciones utilizadas para tratar con el problema que a las cuestiones teóricas propiamente. Esas tensiones proceden de relaciones complejas que no pueden ser reducidas a los respectivos polos y que deben ser examinadas en diferentes niveles de análisis. El argumento es ilustrado con relación al individual y al colectivo en el contexto de la Psicología organizacional. Se concluye que el encaminamiento de los dilemas y de las tensiones en el campo con repercusiones importantes en la formación y en la práctica profesional requiere superación de nuestros aprisionamientos teórico-metodológicos, convivencia con la pluralidad teórico-metodológica e integración crítica y constructiva de las muchas perspectivas que elucidan la naturaleza y la manifestación de un fenómeno.(AU)

Polaridades conceituais e tensões teóricas no campo da Psicologia: o falso paradoxo indivíduo/coletividade / Conceptual polarities and theoretical tensions in the field of Psychology: the individual / collective false paradox / Polaridades conceptuales y tensiones teóricas en el campo de la Psicología: la falsa paradoja individuo / colectividad

O presente artigo analisa as polaridades que dificultam o diálogo entre os psicólogos e o estudo da Psicologia e argumenta que as tensões decorrentes estão mais associadas às ações utilizadas para lidar com o problema do que às questões teóricas propriamente. Essas tensões procedem de relações complexas que não podem ser reduzidas aos respectivos polos e que devem ser examinadas em diferentes níveis de análise. O argumento é ilustrado com relação ao individual e ao coletivo no contexto da Psicologia organizacional. Conclui-se que o encaminhamento dos dilemas e das tensões no campo com repercussões importantes na formação e na prática profissional requer superação dos nossos aprisionamentos teórico-metodológicos, convivência com a pluralidade teórico-metodológica e integração crítica e construtiva das muitas perspectivas que elucidam a natureza e a manifestação de um fenômeno...

This article examines the polarities that hinder dialogue among psychologists and the study of the discipline. The argument points out that the tensions are associated more strongly to the actions used to deal with the problem than to theoretical issues properly. These tensions stem from a complex relationship which cannot be reduced to their respective poles and must be examined on different levels of analysis. The argument is illustrated with the relationship individual-collectivity from organizational psychology context. The study concludes that the routing of the dilemmas and tensions in the psychological field and training requires overcoming our theoretical and methodological lockups, coping with the theoretical and methodological plurality, and pursuing a critical and constructive integration from the many perspectives that elucidate the nature and manifestation of the psychological phenomena...

El presente artículo analiza las polaridades que dificultan el diálogo entre los psicólogos y el estudio de la Psicología y argumenta que las tensiones derivadas están más asociadas a las acciones utilizadas para tratar con el problema que a las cuestiones teóricas propiamente. Esas tensiones proceden de relaciones complejas que no pueden ser reducidas a los respectivos polos y que deben ser examinadas en diferentes niveles de análisis. El argumento es ilustrado con relación al individual y al colectivo en el contexto de la Psicología organizacional. Se concluye que el encaminamiento de los dilemas y de las tensiones en el campo con repercusiones importantes en la formación y en la práctica profesional requiere superación de nuestros aprisionamientos teórico-metodológicos, convivencia con la pluralidad teórico-metodológica e integración crítica y constructiva de las muchas perspectivas que elucidan la naturaleza y la manifestación de un fenómeno...

Imaging of gynecological disease (6): clinical and ultrasound characteristics of ovarian dysgerminoma.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the clinical history and ultrasound findings in patients with ovarian dysgerminoma. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients with a histological diagnosis of ovarian dysgerminoma who had undergone preoperative ultrasound examination. The patients were identified from the databases of 11 ultrasound centers. The tumors were described by the principal investigator at each contributing center on the basis of ultrasound images, ultrasound reports and research protocols (when applicable) using the terms and definitions of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) group. In addition, three authors reviewed all available electronic ultrasound images (gray-scale images and color/power Doppler images were available for 18 patients and 14 patients, respectively) and described them using subjective evaluation of gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasound findings (here called pattern recognition). RESULTS: Twenty-one patients with ovarian dysgerminoma were identified (including one woman with bilateral masses). Twenty patients had a primary ovarian dysgerminoma (including the one with bilateral masses) and one patient had a recurrence of dysgerminoma in her retained ovary. One of the 21 patients was pregnant. All tumors except one were pure dysgerminomas, one being a mixed germinal cell tumor with 30% dysgerminoma component. Median age was 20 (range, 16-31) years. Information on clinical symptoms was available for 18 patients. In four patients, the tumor was detected incidentally, whereas 14 patients presented with one or more of the following symptoms: acute pain (n = 4), chronic pain (n = 8), bloating (n = 8), menstrual disorders (n = 5) and infertility problems (n = 1). One (5%) patient had ascites. Using the IOTA terms and definitions, all but one dysgerminoma were moderately (43%) or very well (50%) vascularized solid tumors. One tumor was multilocular-solid. According to pattern recognition, most dysgerminomas were highly vascularized, purely solid tumors with heterogeneous internal echogenicity divided into several lobules, had a smooth and sometimes lobulated contour and were well-defined relative to the surrounding organs. CONCLUSION: The ultrasound finding of a highly vascularized, large, solid, lobulated adnexal mass with irregular internal echogenicity in a woman 20-30 years old should raise the suspicion of ovarian dysgerminoma.

The clinical course of EAE is reflected by the dynamics of the neuroantigen-specific T cell compartment in the blood.

Due to the limited numbers of PBMCs that can be obtained from the blood of individual mice, the key question whether central disease parameters such as onset, progression and severity correlate with the magnitude and cytokine quality of the T cell response in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has remained unanswered. Here we introduce an ELISPOT-based PBMC test system in which as little as 150 µl of murine blood are sufficient, allowing to bleed mice repeatedly while continuing to observe the clinical course of EAE. Using this technique, we demonstrate that longitudinal measurements of antigen-specific IFN-γ and IL-17 production in the blood are a highly suitable approach to predict the disease outcome in remitting-relapsing PLP:139-151- and chronic MOG:35-55-induced EAE of SJL/J and C57BL/6 mice, respectively. Our data propound cytokine monitoring as promising tool in the quest for more efficient diagnostic and prognostic options in human multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

The diversity of pathogenesis-related proteins decreases during grape maturation.

It was recently shown that wines contain typically a huge diversity of structurally similar polypeptides that exhibit a high degree of homology to pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. This observation suggested the existence of one or a few precursors in mature grapes, common to most or all the wine PR proteins. Limited proteolysis and chemical modification of the precursor(s) during fruit ripening and winemaking could then generate the large number of distinct wine polypeptides. However, the patterns of PR proteins extracted from grape berries regularly harvested from the onset of development until maturity did not confirm the previous hypothesis. Two different methodologies, involving 2-D immunoblotting and a combination of FPLC cation/anion exchange chromatographies with 1-D immunoblotting, indicate that the total concentration of PR proteins is increased but its diversity is reduced from the early stages of berry development until maturity. These results indicate that PR proteins are synthesized in a wide variety of forms from the early stages of grape development, eliminating the hypothesis previously formulated on the existence of one or few precursors common to the wine proteins.

Environmental conditions during vegetative growth determine the major proteins that accumulate in mature grapes.

Despite recent reports in the literature that chitinases comprise approximately 50% of the soluble proteins present in mature Vitis vinifera L. (cv. Moscatel) grapes, with the other major proteins being thaumatin-like proteins, a careful inspection of the published data reveals inconsistencies as to which proteins actually accumulate in mature grapes. Mature Moscatel grapes were harvested in the same vineyard in two consecutive years, 1999 and 2000. The grapes exhibited widely distinct polypeptide patterns when analyzed by either FPLC cation exchange chromatography or two-dimensional electrophoresis: whrereas the 2000 grapes possessed a much higher protein content (1.96 versus 1.11 mg g(-)(1) of fresh weight), the 1999 grapes contained a greater heterogeneity of polypeptides. In addition, highly specific antibodies that recognize the pathogenesis-related proteins present in the grapes demonstrated that the 2000 harvest grapes had a wider variety of pathogenesis-related polypeptides. N-Terminal sequencing of the major polypeptides revealed differences in the relative abundance and amino acid sequence of thaumatin-like and osmotin-like polypeptides present in the 1999 and 2000 harvest Moscatel grapes and did not detect the presence of chitinase. As a whole, the data indicate that the expression and accumulation of the major proteins in grapes is essentially determined by the environmental and/or pathological conditions prevailing during grape development and maturation. The potential physiological and technological implications are discussed. The results of the present work suggest that it is not possible to base varietal differentiation of grapes on the profile of the pathogenesis-related polypeptides present in the mature berries.

Retrospective study on adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection of colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver.

As a means of defining the role of chemotherapy after radical resection of colorectal liver metastases, a follow-up study of consecutive cases referred to three different surgical clinics, between June 1977 and December 1990 was performed. Data were collected from medical records and recorded on standardized forms. Analysis focused on the impact of treatment on survival of the study population by Cox multivariate analysis. One hundred and twenty-four primary colon cancer cases were reviewed and 102 were fully evaluable. Forty of the 102 were given 5FU based chemotherapy. According to multivariate survival analysis, time to hepatic metastasis (synchronous vs metachronous, RR = 0.41, 95%, C.I. = 0.21-0.78; P = 0.007) and sex (female vs male, RR = 0.48, 95% C.I. = 0.25-0.93; P = 0.029) were significantly associated with better survival. The relative risk of dying associated with treatment was 0.53 (95% C.I. = 0.27-1.05; P = 0.0675). This study suggests that chemotherapy may have an impact on survival, although the size of the effect is not precise. Multicentric randomized clinical trials are required to define the risk/benefit profile of adjuvant chemotherapy.