Antihyperlipidemic effects of Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushrooms) in HIV-infected individuals taking antiretroviral therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antiretroviral treatment (ART) regimens in HIV patients commonly cause significant lipid elevations, including increases in both triglycerides and cholesterol. Standard treatments for hypercholesterolemia include the HMG CoA reductase inhibitors, or "statins." Because many ART agents and statins share a common metabolic pathway that uses the cytochrome P450 enzyme system, coadministration of ART with statins could increase statin plasma levels significantly. The oyster mushroom, <it>Pleurotus ostreatus</it>, has been shown in animal models to decrease lipid levels - a finding that has been supported by preliminary data in a small human trial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To assess the safety and efficacy of <it>P. ostreatus </it>in patients with HIV and ART-induced hyperlipidemia, a single-arm, open-label, proof-of-concept study of 8 weeks' duration with a target enrollment of 20 subjects was conducted. Study patients with ART-induced elevated non-HDL cholesterol levels (> 160 mg/dL) were enrolled. Participants received packets of freeze-dried <it>P. ostreatus </it>(15 gm/day) to be administered orally for the 8 week trial period. Lipid levels were drawn every two weeks to assess efficacy. Safety assessments included self-reported incidence of muscle aches and measurement of liver and muscle enzymes. Mean within-person change in lipid levels were estimated using generalized estimating equations to account for repeated observations on individuals. A 30 mg/dL decrease in non-HDL cholesterol was deemed clinically significant.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>126 patients were screened to enroll 25, of which 20 completed the 8-week study. The mean age was 46.4 years (36-60). Patients had a mean 13.7 yrs of HIV infection. Mean non-HDL cholesterol was 204.5 mg/dL at day 0 and 200.2 mg/dL at day 56 (mean within-person change = -1.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -17.4, 14.0). HDL cholesterol levels increased from 37.8 mg/dL at day 0 to 40.4 mg/dL on day 56 (mean within-person change = 2.6; 95% CI = -0.1, 5.2). Triglycerides dropped from 336.4 mg/dL on day 0 to 273.4 mg/dL on day 56 (mean within-person change = -63.0; 95% CI = -120.9, -5.1). Only 3 individuals achieved a sustained clinically significant (30 mg/dL) decline in non-HDL cholesterol after 8 weeks of therapy. There were no adverse experiences reported other than patients' distaste for the preparation. Liver function tests and muscle enzymes were not affected by the 8 weeks of treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Pleurotus ostreatus </it>as administered in this experiment did not lower non-HDL cholesterol in HIV patients with ART-induced hypercholesterolemia. Small changes in HDL and triglycerides were not of a clinical magnitude to warrant further study.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00069524">NCT00069524</a></p

EVALUATION OF ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OIL OF Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. AGAINST THE YEAST OF THE SPECIES Candida albicans

Os produtos oriundos de plantas medicinais com propriedades antifúngicas tem se destacado. A disponibilidade de antifúngicos atualmente utilizados na clínica é relativamente pequena, sendo muitas vezes ineficiente e com toxicidade elevada. A Candida albicans é uma levedura que está presente normalmente na microbiota humana. No entanto, quando a imunidade baixa ou após o uso de certos medicamentos, ela pode-se tornar patogênica e causar infecções ao hospedeiro. Diante deste contexto, o presente trabalho visou avaliar “in vitro” o óleo essencial de Baccharis dracunculifolia frente à cepa da espécie Candida albicans. O óleo foi extraído das folhas secas de B. dracunculifolia através do método de hidrodestilação, em aparelho de Clevenger, durante 7 horas, e apresentou  rendimento de 0,5%. O ensaio antifúngico foi realizado através do teste de difusão em disco e então testado em diferentes concentrações variando de 0,29 a 10 mg. O óleo apresentou atividade antifúngica em uma Concentração Inibitória Mínima de 10 mg. Pode-se concluir que o óleo essencial de Baccharis dracunculifolia possui boa atividade antifúngica, o que pode auxiliar no desenvolvimento de novos fármacos contra leveduras da espécie Candida albicans

INSULIN AND ANALOGS: NARRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

As insulinas e seus análogos são divididos em três tipos principais: os de ação curta, distribuídas nas categorias de ação curta e ultracurta ou rápida; ação intermediária e ação longa. A insulina aspart e lispro possuem ação ultracurta e rápida, a insulina glulisina sofre absorção duas vezes mais rápida que a insulina regular e atinge um pico plasmático duas vezes maior. A insulina regular é uma insulina zinco cristalina, de ação curta, empregada em casos emergenciais hiperglicêmicos. As de ação intermediária são: protamina neutra de Hagedorn (NPH) ou isófana e a lente. A insulina glargina é um análogo de insulina modificada, a qual foi desenvolvida para proporcionar uma concentração constante de insulina. A insulina detemir é um análogo solúvel, com ação prolongada, caracteriza por não possuir pico de ação. Este trabalho é uma revisão narrativa, descritiva e exploratória sobre a insulina e seus análogos, voltados para o estudo da insulina no Diabetes mellitus (DM), pois, é a melhor escolha para o tratamento do DM tipo 1.

Quietly sharing the load? The role of school psychologists in enabling teacher resilience

Teacher resilience is associated with positive student outcomes and plays an important role in teacher retention and well-being. School ecologies can enable the resilience of teachers, with prior research illustrating the importance of supportive colleagues, strong leadership, and positive school culture. There is limited research, however, exploring the role of school psychologists in supporting or enabling teacher resilience. Using data from experienced Australian school psychologists and teachers, this exploratory qualitative study examines the role of school psychologists in enabling teacher resilience. Findings show that school psychologists directly and indirectly support teacher resilience, although teachers perceive school psychologists’ main role as work with individual students. Issues pertaining to variations in access and particular roles of school psychologists are discussed. Although further research is needed to clarify and promote the role of school psychologists, this study points to them potentially playing an important role in school ecologies that enable teacher resilience

Налоговое стимулирование инвестиций частных инвесторов в облигации в Российской Федерации

Статья посвящена анализу особенностей налогового стимулирования инвестиций частных инвесторов в облигации в РФ. Необходимость налогового стимулирования приобретения облигаций частными инвесторами отмечена как составная часть стратегии бондизации, заявленной Банком России. Целью настоящей статьи является анализ специфики применения инвестиционных налоговых льгот в РФ, выявление спорных и требующих конкретизации вопросов. Отмечены широкое освещение темы налогового стимулирования инвестиций в иностранной периодической литературе и практически полное игнорирование данной тематики отечественными авторами. В статье проанализированы налоговые новации в области инвестиций российских частных инвесторов: льгота по купонному доходу корпоративных облигаций, инвестиционные налоговые вычеты (индивидуальные инвестиционные счета и льгота по долгосрочному владению ценными бумагами), льгота по долгосрочному владению ценными бумагами высокотехнологичного (инновационного) сектора экономики. Определены возможности совмещения вышеназванных льгот. Отмечен недостаток количественных данных для оценки эффективности налоговых льгот для частных инвесторов вследствие короткого периода их действия. Авторы пришли к выводу относительно отсутствия единой системы предоставления льгот частным инвесторам и более широком льготировании облигаций в сравнении с прочими инструментами. Конкретным результатами работы можно считать констатацию необходимости внесений изменений в НК РФ с целью выравнивания налогообложения по производным инструментам, созданным на основе облигаций, паям паевых инвестиционных фондов и корректировки ряда технических моментов применения льгот, а также оценку эффективности описанных льгот.The paper addresses the specificities of tax incentives in the form of tax reliefs designated for individual investors, who invest in bonds in the Russian Federation. The need for the use of tax incentives to encourage individual investors to purchase bonds is regarded as an integral aspect of the bondization, announced by the Bank of Russia. The objective of this paper is to analyze the specific features of the investment tax relief implementation in the Russian Federation and to reveal issues that remain controversial and require particularization. It was found that stimulation of investment through tax is widely studied by foreign scientists; however, it is almost completely disregarded in Russia. The following tax innovations related to investments of individual Russian investors were analyzed: tax relief for coupon income, derived from corporate bonds; investment tax deductions (individual investment account and long-term capital gains exemption); long-term capital gains exemption for securities of the high-tech (innovation) sector of economy. Reconciliation schemes for the above-mentioned reliefs were identified. Insufficiency of quantitative data for the effectiveness evaluation of tax relief for individual investors was revealed, which was explained by the short validity period of this relief. The authors proved the absence of a uniform system tax relief instruments for individual investors and found that bond holders have more tax relief options, compared to share holders of other investment instruments. In this context, it was proposed to make amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in order to ensure tax equalization with relation to derivative instruments, designed on the basis of bonds, mutual fund units). In addition, it was recommended to adjust a number of technical aspects, connected with tax relief application and to evaluate the effectiveness of the reliefs under study

Understanding and examining teacher resilience from multiple perspectives

In this chapter, I argue that differing conceptualisations of the construct of resilience shape and enrich the research questions and methodology used to examine it. In addition, the conceptual focus has implications for questions such as whose responsibility it is for the development of resilience. Research conducted within two Australian projects, Keeping Cool and BRiTE (Building Resilience in Teacher Education) is used as an illustration of the impact of a changing conceptual focus. For example, beginning with a psychological perspective led to an examination of risk and protective factors for individuals. More contextual approaches involved a comparison of countries. Recent systemic views support a model that encompasses both personal and contextual characteristics, as well as strategies used and outcomes achieved. It is argued that taking multiple perspectives in this programme of work has enabled the incorporation of a broad range of research methods and findings, and contributed to a deeper understanding of the construct of teacher resilience