Study of the biological activity of natural products from macroalgae of the northeastern coast against Leishmania amazonensis

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-19T13:30:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 401.pdf: 9920494 bytes, checksum: 8583b102e7c583547584adc8d2fe879e (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães. Recife, PE, BrasilO tratamento utilizado para a leishmaniose apresenta efeitos colaterais graves, exige acompanhamento médico e prolongado tempo de terapia. Assim, a prospecção de novos compostos contra esta doença ainda se faz necessária. As macroalgas possuem grande variedade de moléculas bioativas. No presente trabalho foi avaliada a atividade leishmanicida, a citotoxicidade, a produção de óxido nítrico (NO) e os possíveis alvos dos extratos de macroalgas. Foi avaliado o efeito de 10 extratos sobre o crescimento de formas promastigotas de L. amazonensis. A citotoxicidade em células de mamíferos foi avaliada através do método do MTT e o índice de seletividade foi determinado. A produção de NO por macrófagos foi avaliada pelo reagente de Griess. A análise ultraestrutural foi realizada por microscopia eletrônica. Para análise dos efeitos dos extratos sobre a membrana e o potencial de membrana mitocondrial células tratadas e controles foram submetidas à marcação com iodeto de propídio (IP) e rodamina 123. Os dados mostraram que todos os extratos inibiram o crescimento de formas promastigotas e apresentaram baixa toxidade para células de mamífero. Canistrocarpus cervicornis (CC), Dictyota mertensii (DM) e Laurencia dendroidea (LD) foram as mais efetivas e mais seletivas contra formas promastigotas entre todas as algas testadas. Estes extratos também inibiram a infecção e índice de sobrevivência de formas amastigotas no interior de macrófagos. Esses extratos aumentaram a produção de NO em relação às células controles. Alterações compatíveis com a perda de viabilidade e morte celular foram observadas por microscopia eletrônica. Células tratadas apresentaram discreto aumento no número de células IP+. Os extratos induziram alterações significativas no potencial de membrana mitocondrial. A baixa toxicidade às células de mamíferos e a atividade leishmanicida apresentadas apontam para a utilização dos extratos de CC, DM e LD como agentes promissores para o tratamento da leishmaniose cutâne

Satisfaction and quality of life of nurses satisfaction and quality of life of nurses in a public hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: To evaluate the satisfaction and quality of life (QL) of nurses working in a public hospital. Method: This is a cross-sectional study developed during COVID-19 with nurses who had 6 months of work, between October 2020 and February 2021, at a State Oncological Reference Hospital in São Luís-MA. A questionnaire was applied on sociodemographic characteristics and the WHOQOL-bref and Employee Satisfaction Index (ESI) instruments. A normality test was performed followed by the Spearman correlation coefficient with a significance level of 5%. Results: 71 nurses participated in the survey and the average QL scores in all domains are regular (3.64) and employee satisfaction, in all domains, is low (2.50). A weak positive correlation was observed in all domains of the WHOQOL-bref and in the autonomy of the ESI (physical - r=0.482; psychological - r=0.285; social - r=0.318; and environment - r=0.251), while weak negative correlation was observed between the professional status and the psychological (r=-0.312) and the social (r=-0.374) domain and work and environment requirements (r=-0.295). Conclusion and implications for practice: The nurses showed regular and low QL, satisfied and knowing the reasons helps managers to propose interventions to reduce the QL benefit and to improve the care provided.Objetivo: avaliar a satisfação e qualidade de vida (QV) dos enfermeiros que atuam em um hospital público. Metodologia:  trata-se de um estudo transversal desenvolvido durante a COVID-19 com enfermeiros que tinham 6 meses de trabalho, entre outubro de 2020 e fevereiro de 2021, em um Hospital Estadual Oncológico de Referência em  São Luís-MA. Aplicou-se questionário sobre as características sociodemográficas e os instrumentos WHOQOL-bref e Índice de Satisfação Profissional (ISP). Foi realizado teste de normalidade seguido do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman com nível de significância de 5%.  Resultado: 71 enfermeiros participaram da pesquisa e os escores médios da QV em todos os domínios é regular (3,64) e a satisfação profissional, em todos os domínios, são baixos (2,50). Observou-se correlação positiva fraca em todos os domínios do WHOQOL-bref e a autonomia do ISP (físico – r=0,482; psicológico - r=0,285; social - r=0,318; e ambiente – r=0,251) e negativa fraca entre o status profissional e o domínio psicológico (r=-0,312) e social (r=-0,374) e requisitos do trabalho e ambiente (r=-0,295). Conclusão e implicações para a prática: os enfermeiros apresentaram QV regular e baixa satisfação e, conhecer os motivos ajuda gestores a propor intervenções para à redução de prejuízo a QV e para a melhoria da assistência oferecida

The in vitro biological activity of the Brazilian brown seaweed Dictyota mertensii against Leishmania amazonensis

Submitted by Kamylla Nascimento ([email protected]) on 2017-11-20T14:06:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 art. The in Vitro Biological Activity - aliança.pdf: 3586985 bytes, checksum: 5dc5a0466274bf6a18c38bc8815ef061 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Kamylla Nascimento ([email protected]) on 2017-11-20T14:30:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 art. The in Vitro Biological Activity - aliança.pdf: 3586985 bytes, checksum: 5dc5a0466274bf6a18c38bc8815ef061 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-20T14:30:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 art. The in Vitro Biological Activity - aliança.pdf: 3586985 bytes, checksum: 5dc5a0466274bf6a18c38bc8815ef061 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-09Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Aggeu Magalhães. Recife, PE, Brasil.Seaweeds present a wide variety of interesting bioactive molecules. In the present work we evaluated the biological activity of the dichloromethane/methanol (2:1) extract (DME) from the brown seaweed Dictyota mertensii against Leishmania amazonensis and its cytotoxic potential on mammalian cells. The extract showed significant inhibitory effect on the growth of promastigote forms (IC50=71.60 μg/mL) and low toxicity against mammalian cells (CC50=233.10 μg/mL). The DME was also efficient in inhibiting the infection in macrophages, with CC50 of 81.4 μg/mL and significantly decreased the survival of amastigote forms within these cells. The selectivity index showed that DME was more toxic to both promastigote (SI=3.25) and amastigote (SI=2.86) forms than to macrophages. Increased NO production was observed in treated macrophages suggesting that besides acting directly on the parasites, the DME also shows an immunomodulatory effect on macrophages. Drastic ultrastructural alterations consistent with loss of viability and cell death were observed in treated parasites. Confocal microscopy and cytometry analyzes showed no significant impairment of plasma membrane integrity, whereas an intense depolarization of mitochondrial membrane could be observed by using propidium iodide and rhodamine 123 staining, respectively. The low toxicity to mammalian cells and the effective activity against promastigotes and amastigotes, point to the use of DME as a promising agent for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Immunomodulatory Effects of Cinnamaldehyde in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>-Infected Wounds

Cinnamaldehyde (CNM) is an essential-oil component with reported anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, and healing effects, making it an interesting compound for the treatment of wound infection. Herein, we evaluated the effects of topical administration of CNM in experimental wounds infected by Staphylococcus aureus. Swiss mice (n = 12/group) were randomly allocated into three groups (CON: animals with uninfected lesions; Sa: animals with untreated infected lesions; Sa + CNM: animals with infected wounds and treated with CNM). Excisional lesions (64 mm2) were induced at the dorsal area followed by the addition of S. aureus (80 μL of a 1.5 × 108 CFU/mL bacterial suspension). The wounds were treated with CNM (200 μg/wound/day) or vehicle (2% DMSO) for 10 days. Skin samples were taken on the 3rd or 10th treatment day for quantification of inflammatory mediators, bacterial load, immunophenotyping, and histological analysis. The treatment with CNM improved the healing process and attenuated the severity of skin lesions infected by S. aureus. These effects were associated with significant decreases in bacterial loads in CNM-treated wounds. The levels of neutrophils, TNF-α, IL-6, NO, and VEGF were decreased in the lesions treated with CNM. Taken together, these data provide further evidence of the effectiveness of CNM for the treatment of skin infections

Bibliometric Review on New Possibilities of Antimycobacterial Agents: Exploring Siderophore Desferrioxamine’s Applications as an Antimicrobial Agent

Mycobacteria cause tuberculosis and other serious diseases. Understanding their mechanisms of resistance to our immune system and exploring novel drugs are critical strategies to combat infections. A bibliometric analysis was performed to identify publication trends and critical research areas in the field of the antimicrobial activity of desferrioxamine. A total of twenty-four publications on the topic, from 2012 to 2023, were retrieved from databases including Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Embase, using specific keywords. The quality of the publications was assessed using impact and productivity metrics, with an average annual publication rate of 2.1 articles. The United States emerged as the most productive country, with medicine (23.4%, 11 publications) and biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology (21.3%, 10 publications) as the top research fields. The five most cited publications accounted for 672 citations, with a relatively low h-index (11:11). In conclusion, there has been a lack of publications on this topic in the last decade. The United States dominates production and publication in this area, and there appears to be limited exchange of knowledge, ideas, and technology within the field. Therefore, fostering international cooperation through funding is essential to facilitate further research and development of desferrioxamine-related studies