Fracionamento e caracterização química da fração insolúvel em água de Uncaria tomentosa (Wild.) DC e avaliação da potencial atividade antifúngica e de dano celular sobre espécies patogênicas de Candida spp.

Uncaria tomentosa (unha-de-gato) é uma videira de ampla distribuição nas florestas tropicais das Américas. Sua casca tem sido tradicionalmente usada pelos povos indígenas para distúrbios gástricos. Além disso, imunoestimulante, antiviral, antitumoral e atividade antimicrobiana foram relatados e frequentemente atribuídas aos alcalóides, polifenóis, e glicosídeos ácidos quinóvicos que ocorrem nele. Este estudo tem como objetivo o fracionamento e posterior caracterização da casca aquosas fracções insolúveis por meio de técnicas de FTIR e LC-DAD. As frações codificados FUT1, FUT2, FUT3, FUT4 e FUT-PVPP foram então testadas quanto à atividade antifúngica contra espécies patogênicas de Candida spp. pelo método de microdiluição em caldo. A concentração inibitória mínima (MIC) foi determinada de acordo com a M27-A3 2008 diretrizes CLSI, e dano celular pelo ensaio de MTT. Os perfis LC-DAD foram diferentes para as frações estudadas. A análise de FTIR mostrou grande interação entre PVPP e polifenóis. Os valores de MIC foram bastante semelhantes em relação às fracções FUT1, FUT2 e FUT-PVPP (31,25 ug / ml). No entanto, foi inferior para FUT3 (62,50 ug / ml), e ainda não significativa para a FUT4 (250 ug / ml). Notável, a FUT1 foi a única de induzir dano celular significante (44,52%), e, portanto, os resultados do ensaio de MIC divergiram frontalmente daqueles adquiridos após os MTT. Algumas evidências suportam a hipótese de viés contra a precisão do teste MTT, principalmente devido à absorção a 570-690 nm, que também é inerente aos compostos polifenólicos que ocorrem em frações de Unha de gato.Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) is a vine widely disseminated in the American rainforests. Its stem bark has been traditionally used by indigenous peoples for gastric disorders. Also, immunostimulant, antiviral, antitumor, and antimicrobial activities were reported and frequently ascribed to the alkaloids, polyphenolics, and quinovic acid glycosides occurring in it. This study aims the fractioning and further characterization of the bark aqueous insoluble fractions by FTIR and LC-DAD techniques. The coded fractions FUT1, FUT2, FUT3, FUT4 and FUT-PVPP were then assayed regarding the antifungal activity against pathogenic species of Candida spp. by microdilution broth method. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was assayed according to M27-A3 2008 CLSI guidelines, and cell damage by the MTT assay. The LC-DAD profiles were different for the studied fractions. The FTIR analysis showed great interaction between PVPP and polyphenols. MIC values were quite similar regarding the fractions FUT1, FUT2, and FUT-PVPP (31.25 ug / ml). Yet, it was lower for FUT3 (62.50 ug / ml), and even nonsignificant as in FUT4 (250 ug / ml). Noteworthy, only FUT1 fraction was able to induce significant cell damage (44.52%), and, therefore, the results from MICT assay diverged frontally from those gained after the MTT ones. Some evidence supports the hypothesis of bias against the MTT test accuracy, mostly due to the absorption at 570 to 690 nm, which is also inherent to polyphenolic compounds occurring in the cat's claw fractions

Tree-Network Overrun Model Associated with Pilots’ Actions and Flight Operational Procedures

The runway excursions are defined as the exit of an aircraft from the surface of the runway. These excursions can take place at takeoff or at landing and consist of two types of events: veer off and overrun. This last one, which occurs when the aircraft exceeds the limits at the end of the runway, is the event of interest in the current study. This chapter aims to present an accident model with a new approach in aeronautical systems, based on the tasks of the pilots related to the operational procedures necessary for the approach and landing, in order to obtain the chain of events that lead to this type of accident. Thus, the tree-network overrun model (TNO model) was proposed, unlike most traditional models, which consider only the hardware failures or which do not satisfactorily explain the interrelationship between the factors influencing the operator. The proposed model is developed in a fault tree and transformed into a Bayesian network up to the level of the basic elements. The results showed the qualitative model of the main tasks performed by the pilots and their relation to the accident. It has also been suggested how to find and estimate the probability of factors that can impact on each of the tasks

The influence of the microwave oven on the production of solid culture medium and quality of microbial growth

Numerous cultivation media currently exist, whether selective, non-selective, enrichment or identifi cation. However, they all have a common goal, which is the growth of microorganisms; the constitution and quality of the culture medium must favor it. For this reason, an important factor that directly affects the quality of a culture medium is its production. Thus, this article investigated the use of a microwave oven in the production of Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA), and the microbial inactivation compared to the autoclave in a microbiology laboratory. The quality of the medium, time exposure, and sterilization potential were performed using fungal strains of Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp., Microsporum spp., and Aspergillus spp. The results showed that the advantages of the use of a microwave oven for the preparation of SDA are practicality, speed, lower energy expense, pH, and constituents preservation of the culture medium, resulting in a richer growth compared to autoclaved SDA. The multivariate analysis of digital images allowed the detection of melanoidins (brownish tone of medium), which are responsible for the negative infl uence on the microorganisms growth. This research shows the use of the microwave oven as an effi cient alternative for the production of the culture medium and maintaining their best quality

A risk score for predicting peripheral arterial disease in individuals 75 years or older

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the elderly is high. Most are asymptomatic and the sensitivity of the physical exam is low. In Brazil, little is known in regard to PAD risk factors in the elderly. OBJECTIVES: To identify risk factors for PAD among elderly individuals (> 75 years) in the community and to develop a prediction score. METHODS: Cross-sectional, prospective, community-based study nested within a cohort study (Epidoso). A total of 176 individuals were assessed. PAD was defined as an ankle-brachial index 18 points defined the high risk individuals and yielded sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 85.9%, 71.4%, 63.2% and 89.9%, respectively. Receiver-operator characteristic analysis yielded area under curve of 85%, indicating excellent discrimination and goodness-of-fit statistics indicated excellent calibration (p=0.639). CONCLUSION: Because of its good performance, the proposed score can become a simple and useful tool to identify elderly community residents at higher risk of PAD who should be considered for further investigation.FUNDAMENTO: A prevalência de doença arterial periférica (DAP) é elevada entre os idosos. A maioria é assintomática e o exame físico pouco sensível. No Brasil, os fatores associados à DAP em idosos são pouco conhecidos. OBEJETIVOS: Identificar os fatores associados à presença de doença arterial periférica (DAP) em idosos (> 75 anos) da comunidade e desenvolver um escore de predição da doença. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal, aninhado em uma coorte prospectiva (Epidoso). Foram avaliados 176 idosos (> 75 anos) da comunidade. A presença de DAP foi definida por meio do índice tornozelo-braquial 75 anos) da comunidade com alto risco para DAP e que mereceriam investigação mais detalhada.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Hospital Israelita Albert EinsteinUNIFESPSciEL

Antifungal activity and stability of fluconazole emulsion containing ionic liquids explained by intermolecular interactions

This research reports accelerated stability experiments, the evaluation of intermolecular interactions, and antifungal assays for fluconazole emulsions prepared using ultrasound (US) and magnetic stirring (MS) in the presence of ionic liquids derived from 1,n-(3-methylimidazolium-1- yl)alkane bromide ([CnMIM]Br; n = 12 or 16). The goals of the investigation are to quantify the stability, identify the forces that drive the formation and stability, and determine the antifungal activity of fluconazole-containing emulsions, and corroborate the data from our previous results that indicated that the emulsion based on [C16MIM]Br seemed to be more stable. In this study, accelerated stability experiments evidenced a considerable stability for the [C16MIM]Br emulsions at two temperatures (25 and 37 C)—the instability index increased in the following order: US40% < US20% < MS. The 1H NMR data showed that the ILs interacts differently with medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). Two distinct interaction mechanisms were also observed for [C12MIM]Br and [C16MIM]Br with fluconazole, in which the latter formed more compact mixed aggregates than the former. The result was corroborated by diffusion data, which showed that ILs suffered a decrease in diffusion in the presence of fluconazole. The antifungal assay showed that emulsions containing ILs displayed superior activity compared with fluconazole alone. The emulsions also showed potent activity in inhibiting a resistant species (C. glabrata—CG34) to FLZ. All emulsions showed weak irritant potential in HET-CAM assay

In Vitro additive effect on griseofulvin and terbinafine combinations against multidrug-resistant dermatophytes

Griseofulvin (GF) and terbinafine (TF) are commonly used drugs to treat dermatophytosis, a fungal infection of the skin. Today there is an increase in drug resistance to these antifungals which highlight the need for alternative synergistic therapies. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of GF and TF were determined against fungi clinical isolates from local hospitals with values ranging 0.03−2.0 µg mL-1 and 0.24−4.0 µg mL-1, respectively. A checkboard test was used to determine the combination of GF:TF which could induce an additive effect against the fungi isolates Multidrug-resistant isolates showed susceptibility after treatment with 16:2 µg mL-1 GF:TF. An MTT assay further verified that GF and TF combinations have greater additive effect against pathological and multidrug-resistant isolates than antifungals alone. Herein we disclose GF:TF combinations that could constitute as a possible new anti-dermatophyte therapy

Estilos de liderança e compatibilidade entre treinadores e jovens atletas de futebol

It is important to analyze whether the way soccer players perceive the leadership of their coaches is related to the compatibility they assume about coaches. Studies on Brazilian soccer about this topic are still few in number. Thus, this study has three objectives: (a) analyze whether the compatibility between coaches and players differs depending on the coaches' leadership styles; (b) analyze whether the compatibility between coach and players differs depending on the closer approximation between the current and preferred behaviors of coaches perceived by players, and (c) analyze if players’ perception about the leadership styles of the coaches changes according to the age of the players. The evaluation protocol included the Multidimensional Scale of Leadership in Sport and the Coach-Athlete Compatibility Measure. One hundred and eighteen young players from five elite Brazilian football clubs participated in the study. Players who evaluated more positively the leadership styles of their coaches assumed higher compatibility with the coaches, and this result did not change according to the players’ age. In conclusion, the way players perceive their coaches' leadership is related to their compatibility with the coaches, being necessary to improve coaches’ leadership styles.É importante analisar se a forma como os jogadores de futebol percebem a liderança dos seus treinadores está relacionada com a compatibilidade que assumem relativamente aos treinadores. Os estudos sobre este tema no futebol brasileiro ainda são incipientes. Assim, este estudo tem três objetivos: (a) analisar se a compatibilidade entre treinador e jogadores difere em função dos estilos de liderança dos treinadores; (b) analisar se a compatibilidade entre treinador e jogadores difere em função dos atletas perceberem maior aproximação entre os comportamentos atuais e preferidos dos treinadores e (c) analisar se a perceção dos jogadores sobre os estilos de liderança dos treinadores muda de acordo com a idade dos jogadores. O protocolo de avaliação incluiu a Escala Multidimensional de Liderança no Desporto e a Medida de Compatibilidade Treinador-Atleta. Participaram no estudo jogadores de cinco clubes da elite do futebol brasileiro. Os atletas que avaliaram mais positivamente os estilos de liderança dos treinadores assumiram maior compatibilidade relativamente aos treinadores, sendo que este resultado não variou em função da idade dos atletas. Em conclusão, a forma como os jogadores percebem a liderança dos seus treinadores está relacionada com a compatibilidade com os treinadores, sendo importante melhorar os estilos de liderança dos treinadores

Análise de fatores humanos e organizacionais relacionados ao procedimento de frenagem de aeronaves em condições ambientais desfavoráveis / Analysis of human and organizational factors related to aircraft braking procedure in unfavorable environmental conditions

Este artigo identifica e prioriza os principais fatores contribuintes relacionados ao procedimento de frenagem que ocorrem durante pouso de aeronaves comerciais de médio e grande porte. A literatura disponível e a pesquisa com especialistas indicam que as condições adversas durante o procedimento de frenagem ocorre principalmente quando há condições ambientais desfavoráveis e/ou quando a pista do aeroporto é desfavorável ao pouso. Com o objetivo de identificar os principais fatores humanos, organizacionais, aeroportuários e ambientais que influenciam o procedimento de frenagem, foram analisados os relatórios de acidentes e incidentes da base de dados do National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) entre 2005 e 2015. Os fatores identificados foram analisados utilizando um modelo de acidente e priorizados de acordo com a probabilidade de ocorrência obtida através da Rede Bayesiana. Assim, os resultados obtidos permitem a seleção dos fatores que devem ser priorizados pelos órgãos competentes, a fim de colaborar com a gestão da segurança no transporte aéreo e reduzir as excursões de pista durante o procedimento de pouso dessas aeronaves. A metodologia utilizada e os resultados encontrados são as principais contribuições deste estudo