Search results for "Lava"
showing 10 items of 456 documents
In vitro study of human alveolar macrophage and peripheral blood mononuclear cell reactive oxygen-intermediates release induced by sulfur dioxide at …
1994
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a major air pollutant in urban areas. Alveolar macrophages (AM) located on the alveolar surface are in direct contact with this inhaled gas. We evaluated the dose-dependent effect of SO2 exposure on the oxidative metabolism of AM and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) by measuring the spontaneous and stimulated reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) release. AM or PBMNC were placed on a polycarbonate membrane, which was in direct contact with the surface of a nutrient reservoir. For exposure of the cells to SO2 a special chamber was employed, in which humidified standard air with 5% CO2 at 37 degrees C was mixed with SO2 at the desired concentration. Periods of …
Ethnobotanical survey and cytotoxicity testing of plants of South-western Nigeria used to treat cancer, with isolation of cytotoxic constituents from…
2010
Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance There is only scant literature on the anticancer components of medicinal plants from Nigeria, yet traditional healers in the area under study claim to have been managing the disease in their patients with some success using the species studied. Aim of study To document plants commonly used to treat cancer in South-western Nigeria and to test the scientific basis of the claims using in vitro cytotoxicity tests. Methods Structured questionnaires were used to explore the ethnobotanical practices amongst the traditional healers. Methanol extracts of the most common species cited were screened for cytotoxicity using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay in both…
Clinical importance of eosinophil count in nasal fluid in patients with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis
2009
Eosinophil count in nasal fluid (ECNF) was used to differentiate nasal pathologies. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and the area under the curve (AUC) were performed to evaluate the ECNF's accuracy in distinguishing allergic rhinitis (AR) from non-allergic rhinitis (NAR). We also evaluated the accuracy of ECNF in recognizing patients with mild and severe symptoms of rhinitis and patients with ineffective and effective clinical responses to antihistamines. 1,170 consecutive adult patients with a clinical history of rhinitis were studied. ECNF's median in AR was 6.0 and 2.0 in NAR and the best cut-off value was > 3.0, AUC = 0.75. ECNF's median in AR with mild nasal …
Antimutagenic effects of flavonoids, chalcones and structurally related compounds on the activity of 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) and…
1993
Abstract Sixty-four flavonoids were tested for their antimutagenic potencies with respect to IQ in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and in part also towards MeIQ, MeIQx, Trp-P-2, and Glu-P-1 and in S. typhimurium TA100. Antimutagenic potencies were quantified by the inhibitory dose for 50% reduction of mutagenic activity (ID 50 ). A carbonyl function at C-4 of the flavane nucleus seems to be essential for antimutagenicity: two flavanols and four anthocyanidines were inactive. Again, five isoflavons, except biochanin A, were inactive. Within the other groups of 21 flavones, 16 flavonols and 16 flavanones the parent compounds flavone, flavonol, and flavonone possessed the highest antimutagenic pot…
Investigation of Complement Activation Product C4d as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker for Lung Cancer
2013
[EN] Background There is a medical need for diagnostic biomarkers in lung cancer. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of complement activation fragments. Methods We assessed complement activation in four bronchial epithelial and seven lung cancer cell lines. C4d, a degradation product of complement activation, was determined in 90 primary lung tumors; bronchoalveolar lavage supernatants from patients with lung cancer (n = 50) and nonmalignant respiratory diseases (n = 22); and plasma samples from advanced (n = 50) and early lung cancer patients (n = 84) subjects with inflammatory lung diseases (n = 133), and asymptomatic individuals enrolled in a lung cancer computed tomography screenin…
Effectiveness of oral N -acetylcysteine in a rat experimental model of asthma
2002
Oxidative stress appears to be relevant to asthma pathogenesis. Therefore, the effectiveness of the antioxidant N -acetylcysteine was examined on antigen-induced pulmonary responses in sensitized Brown-Norway rats. N -acetylcysteine (oral, 1 mmol kg(-1)per day for 7 days before challenge) did not reduce the immediate bronchospasm that followed aerosol antigen exposure but prevented airway hyperreactivity to 5-hydroxytryptamine at 24 h after antigen challenge, and reduced the eosinophils (from 0.178 +/- 0.038 in the absence to 0.064 +/- 0.020 x10(6)cells ml(-1)in the presence of N -acetylcysteine;P< 0.05), and Evans blue dye extravasation in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Taurine levels in br…
Pancreatic ascites hemoglobin contributes to the systemic response in acute pancreatitis.
2015
Upon hemolysis extracellular hemoglobin causes oxidative stress and cytotoxicity due to its peroxidase activity. Extracellular hemoglobin may release free hemin, which increases vascular permeability, leukocyte recruitment, and adhesion molecule expression. Pancreatitis-associated ascitic fluid is reddish and may contain extracellular hemoglobin. Our aim has been to determine the role of extracellular hemoglobin in the local and systemic inflammatory response during severe acute pancreatitis in rats. To this end we studied taurocholate-induced necrotizing pancreatitis in rats. First, extracellular hemoglobin in ascites and plasma was quantified and the hemolytic action of ascitic fluid was …
EFFECT OF TRIAENOPHORUS CRASSUS (CESTODA) INFECTION ON BEHAVIOR AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PREDATION OF THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE HOST CYCLOPS STRENUUS (COPE…
2000
Some parasites have been shown to manipulate host behavior so that parasite transmission to the next host is enhanced. Infection with Triaenophorus crassus Forel (Cestoda) caused alterations in the activity and microhabitat selection of the first intermediate host Cyclops strenuus Fischer (Copepoda) in the laboratory. Infected copepods made more starts to swim but spent less time swimming than uninfected copepods. These changes were independent of the intensity of infection. In a water column illuminated from above, infected copepods approached the surface, whereas uninfected ones remained close to the bottom. In the dark both infected and uninfected copepods stayed near the bottom. Finally…
Effects of bemiparin on airway responses to antigen in sensitized Brown-Norway rats.
2004
Heparins have demonstrated activity in asthma. The effects of bemiparin, a low molecular weight heparin, were examined on antigen-induced responses in sensitized Brown-Norway rats. Inhaled bemiparin (1 mg/ml) reduced the acute bronchospasm produced by aerosol antigen, prevented airway hyperresponsiveness to 5-hydroxytryptamine postantigen exposure, and reduced the eosinophil count (from 0.205+/-0.062 to 0.054+/-0.016 x 10(6) cells/ml in antigen and antigen+bemiparin groups, respectively; P<0.05), eosinophil peroxidase activity, and proteins in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), as well as the transiently augmented mucin Muc5ac expression. Hyperresponsiveness to adenosine was not affec…
Early detection of pneumonia in febrile neutropenic patients: use of thin-section CT.
1997
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of thin-section CT for early detection of pneumonia in neutropenic patients with an unknown site of infection and normal or nonspecific findings on chest radiographs.Eighty-seven patients with febrile neutropenia that persisted for more than 2 days despite empiric antibiotic treatment underwent 146 prospective examinations. If findings on chest radiographs were normal (n = 126) or nonspecific (n = 20), thin-section CT (1-mm collimation, 10-mm increment) was done. If thin-section CT scans showed opacities, bronchoalveolar lavage was recommended.Findings on chest radiographs were nonspecific for pneumonia in 20 (14%) of 146 cases, and C…