Effects of hydro-ethanolic extract of leaves of Maesa lanceolata (Mursinaceae) on acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats

Inflammopharmacology - Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that is characterized by acute and chronic inflammation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of...     

mantisGRID: A Grid Platform for DICOM Medical Images Management in Colombia and Latin America

This paper presents the mantisGRID project, an interinstitutional initiative from Colombian medical and academic centers aiming to provide medical grid services for Colombia and Latin America. The mantisGRID is a GRID platform, based on open source grid infrastructure that provides the necessary services to access and exchange medical images and associated information following digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) and health level 7 standards. The paper focuses first on the data abstraction architecture, which is achieved via Open Grid Services Architecture Data Access and Integration (OGSA-DAI) services and supported by the Globus Toolkit. The grid currently uses a 30-Mb bandwidth of the Colombian High Technology Academic Network, RENATA, connected to Internet 2. It also includes a discussion on the relational database created to handle the DICOM objects that were represented using Extensible Markup Language Schema documents, as well as other features implemented such as data security, user authentication, and patient confidentiality. Grid performance was tested using the three current operative nodes and the results demonstrated comparable query times between the mantisGRID (OGSA-DAI) and Distributed mySQL databases, especially for a large number of records.     

Ho-YAG laser endoscopic treatment of ureteral strictures

Ho-YAG-laser radiation with wave length 2.09 microns is a perspective line in high-energy laser treatment of urinary diseases. The authors have performed 24 operations in 23 patients with ureteral strictures. The antegrade approach was used in 11 patients while the retrograde one in 12 cases. Primary or secondary strictures occurred in 8 and 15 patients, respectively. Dissection and ablation of the scar tissues were conducted in 15 patients with secondary strictures. Cut of the stricture only was made in 8 patients with primary strictures. Ho-YAG-laser endoscopic treatment of secondary and primary ureteral strictures reached 93.3%(14 patients) and 75%(6 patients), respectively. Overall efficacy was 88.2%(20 patients). Ho-YAG-laser endopyeloplasty promoted quicker recovery of urodynamic and functional parameters of the upper urinary tract.     

K-ras codon 12 mutation induces higher level of resistance to apoptosis and predisposition to anchorage-independent growth than codon 13 mutation or proto-oncogene overexpression

The position of the point mutation in the c-K-ras gene appears associated with different degrees of aggressiveness in human colorectal tumors. In addition, colon tumors carrying K-ras codon 12 mutations associate with lower levels of apoptosis than tumors lacking this mutation. To test the hypothesis of a distinct transforming capacity of different K-ras forms in an in vitro system, we generated stable transfectants of NIH3T3 cells expressing a plasmid containing K-ras mutated at codon 12 (K12) or at codon 13 (K13), or overexpressing the K-ras proto-oncogene (Kwt-oe). We evaluated changes in morphology, proliferative capacity, contact inhibition, and predisposition to apoptosis and anchorage-independent growth in K12, K13, and Kwt-oe transformants. In addition, we studied alterations in expression and/or activation of proteins that participate in signal transduction downstream of Ras or are involved in the regulation of apoptosis and cell-cell (E-cadherin and beta-catenin) and cell-substrate (focal adhesion kinase) interactions. We observed that K13 or Kwt-oe transformants died synchronically 24-48 h after reaching confluency. Their death was apoptotic. In contrast, K12 grew, forming bigger colonies with higher cell densities; and before reaching confluency, spontaneously formed spheroids and showed no sign of apoptosis. The enhanced resistance to apoptosis, loss of contact inhibition, and predisposition to anchorage-independent growth in the K12 transformants were associated with higher AKT/protein kinase B activation, bcl-2, E-cadherin, beta-catenin, and focal adhesion kinase overexpression, and RhoA underexpression, whereas the increased sensitivity of K13 or Kwt-oe transformants to apoptosis was associated with increased activation of the c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase 1 pathway. All transformants showed a similar overactivation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and levels of bax expression similar to the endogenous level. Therefore, in our in vitro model, the localization of the mutation in the K-ras gene predisposes to a different level of aggressiveness in the transforming phenotype. K12 may increase aggressiveness not by altering proliferative pathways, but by the differential regulation of K-Ras downstream pathways that lead to inhibition of apoptosis, enhanced loss of contact inhibition, and increased predisposition to anchorage-independent growth. These results offer a molecular explanation for the increased aggressiveness of the tumors with K-ras codon 12 mutations observed in the clinical setting.     

The role of somatosensory evoked potentials in prognosis of efficacy of tibial neuromodulation in patients with hyperactive urinary bladder

Registration of evoked brain potentials was used as a non-invasive and an objective method of diagnosis of the CNS diseases. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) in response to stimulation of the tibial nerve were studied in patients with hyperactive urinary bladder (HUB) to clarify SSEP role in prognosis of tibial neuromodulation (TNM) efficacy. Urodynamic parameters and SSEP were examined in 13 patients with symptoms of urinary accumulation disorders. Neurogenic HUB was diagnosed in 6 patients, idiopathic one--in 7 patients. TNM was delivered in 30-min weekly sessions (n = 12). Six of seven patients with a cortical potential responded to TNM. Of six cortical nonresponders a positive result was achieved only in two. Thus, patients with the cortical potential demonstrate better effect of TNM than those without the potential. It is suggested that TNM influences both sacral and supraspinal center of urination.