No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The hydroalcoholic extract of B. dracunculifolia (HEBD) and its major compound p-coumaric acid were evaluated against the severity of intestinal inflammation and behavioral changes like depressive and anxious behavior in colitis mice. Colitis was induced in Swiss mice by oral dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) administration for five days. The mice received vehicle (10 ml/kg), HEBD (3, 30, or 300 mg/kg), or p-coumaric acid (15 mg/kg) orally, once a day for twelve days. Behavioral tests were performed on the 11th and 12th days after the beginning of the treatments. Moreover, the colon, cortex, and hippocampus were collected to analyze oxidative and inflammatory parameters. The treatment with HEBD (300 mg/Kg), but not p-coumaric acid, showed decreased disease activity index (DAI) values compared to the vehicle group and partially preserved the villi architecture and mucin levels. Furthermore, the HEBD increased the antioxidant defenses in the colon and hippocampus and reduced the myeloperoxidase activity and IL-6 levels in the colon from colitis mice. Colitis mice treated with HEBD did not show depressive-like behavior in the tail suspension test. HEBD reduced colon inflammation, while it maintains antioxidant defenses and mucin levels in this tissue. It may reduce neuropsychiatric comorbidities associated with colitis through its antioxidant effects.

No abstract

The social and economic roles of goat farming in Northeastern Brazil, allied to the fact that the use of goat middle ear ossicles for research and human ear surgery training has not yet been proposed, justify the study of their applicability as an experimental model. The middle ears of 19 goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) from the bone collection of the Laboratory and Didactic Anatomy Museum of Domestic and Wild Animals of the Federal University of Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF) were dissected. The malleus, incus, and stapes were evaluated regarding their macroscopic morphology and biometry (length, width, and height). Ossicle morphology was similar to sheep, human, and bovine morphology. The malleus was 1.3 times heavier and 2.2 times longer than the incus, and 9.0 times heavier and 3.7 times longer than the stapes. The size relationship was positive between the stapes and the malleus and negative between the stapes and the incus. It is concluded that the middle ear size and the anatomical similarities with human ossicles make goats a useful model for experimental scientific studies, reconstructive surgery practice of the ossicular chain, and human ear surgery training.