Streptozotocin-induced mechanical hypernociception is not dependent on hyperglycemia

Since streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes is a widely used model of painful diabetic neuropathy, the aim of the present study was to design a rational protocol to investigate whether the development of mechanical hypernociception induced by STZ depends exclusively on hyperglycemia. Male Wistar rats (180-200 g; N = 6-7 per group) received a single intravenous injection of STZ at three different doses (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg). Only the higher dose (40 mg/kg) induced a significant increase in blood glucose levels, glucose tolerance and deficiency in weight gain. However, all STZ-treated rats (hyperglycemic or not) developed persistent (for at least 20 days) and indistinguishable bilateral mechanical hypernociception that was not prevented by daily insulin treatment (2 IU twice a day, sc). Systemic morphine (2 mg/kg) but not local (intraplantar) morphine treatment (8 µg/paw) significantly inhibited the mechanical hypernociception induced by STZ (10 or 40 mg/kg). In addition, intraplantar injection of STZ at doses that did not cause hyperglycemia (30, 100 or 300 µg/paw) induced ipsilateral mechanical hypernociception for at least 8 h that was inhibited by local and systemic morphine treatment (8 µg/paw or 2 mg/kg, respectively), but not by dexamethasone (1 mg/kg, sc). The results of this study demonstrate that systemic administration of STZ induces mechanical hypernociception that does not depend on hyperglycemia and intraplantar STZ induces mechanical sensitization of primary sensory neurons responsive to local morphine treatment.FAPESPCNPqPrograma de Núcleos de Excelência (PRONEX

Catalytic bi-reforming of methane for carbon dioxide ennoblement

6th International Conference on Energy and Environment Research (ICEER)New processes that may reduce the net carbon emissions and contribute to a more circular economy are needed. Bi-reforming of methane (BRM) is a promising method for syngas production, with a hydrogen-to-carbon monoxide ratio of two in the reaction products, relevant for example when the purpose is methanol synthesis. In this work, reaction studies were carried out over a nickel-based catalyst varying the temperature (798–1123 K). Three main temperature zones have been identified; a low temperature zone where the conversion of carbon dioxide is almost null, a middle temperature range where steam reforming of methane (SRM) is dominant while the conversion of carbon dioxide via dry reforming of methane (DRM) is low, and finally a high temperature range where DRM becomes more significant. The results show that syngas can be successfully produced using this process. For the range of operating conditions studied, the carbon dioxide and methane conversions increase with temperature, reaching 40% and 100%, respectively at the largest temperature studied. However, the production of syngas in a molar ratio of 1:2 for CO-to-H requires the use of high temperatures. Most probably the nickel agglomerates on top of the -alumina support are responsible for the poor catalyst performance.FCT, Portugal funded research grants SFRH/BPD/112003/2015, SFRH/BPD/105623/2015 and IF/01093/2014 and Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology — CIETI, Portugal, UID/EQU/00305/2013. Project UID/EQU/00511/2019 - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy — LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), Portugal; Project “LEPABE-2-ECO-INNOVATION” – NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000005, funded by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), Portugal, under PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was financially supported by: Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM, Portugal – UID/EQU/50020/2019 – funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), Portugal .info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is there still a need for prophylactic intra-abdominal drainage in elective major gastro-intestinal surgery?

SummaryProphylactic drainage of the abdominal cavity after gastro-intestinal surgery is widely used. The rationale is that intra-abdominal drainage enhances early detection of complications (gastro-intestinal leakage, hemorrhage, bile leak), prevents collection of fluid or pus, reduces morbidity and mortality, and decreases the duration of hospital stay. However, dogmatic attitudes favoring systematic drain placement should be questioned. The aim of this review was to evaluate the evidence supporting systematic use of prophylactic abdominal drainage following gastrectomy, pancreatectomy, liver resection, and rectal resection. Based on this review of the literature: (i) there was no evidence in favor of intra-peritoneal drainage following total or sub-total gastrectomy with respect to morbidity-mortality, nor was it helpful in the diagnosis or management of leakage, however the level of evidence is low, (ii) following pancreatic resection, data are conflicting but, overall, suggest that the absence of drainage is prejudicial, and support the notion that short-term drainage is better than long-term drainage, (iii) after liver resection without hepatico-intestinal anastomosis, high level evidence supports that there is no need for abdominal drainage, and (iv) following rectal resection, data are insufficient to establish recommendations. However, results from the French multicenter randomized controlled trial GRECCAR5 (NCT01269567) should provide new evidence this coming year. Accumulating data support that systematic drainage of the abdominal cavity in digestive surgery is a non-beneficial and obsolete practice, except following pancreatectomy where the consensus appears to indicate the usefulness of short-term drainage. While the level of evidence is high for liver resections, new randomized controlled trials are awaited regarding gastric, pancreatic and rectal surgery

Pan-European early switch/early discharge opportunities exist for hospitalised patients with methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus</em> <em>aureus</em> complicated skin and soft-tissue infections

AbstractThe objective of this study was to document pan-European real-world treatment patterns and healthcare resource use and estimate opportunities for early switch (ES) from intravenous (IV) to oral antibiotics and early discharge (ED) in hospitalized patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs). This retrospective observational medical chart review study enrolled 342 physicians across 12 European countries who collected data from 1542 patients with documented MRSA cSSTI who were hospitalized (July 2010 to June 2011) and discharged alive (by July 2011). Data included clinical characteristics and outcomes, hospital length of stay (LOS), MRSA-targeted IV and oral antibiotic use, and ES and ED eligibility according to literature-based and expert-validated criteria. The most frequent initial MRSA-active antibiotics were vancomycin (50.2%), linezolid (15.1%), clindamycin (10.8%), and teicoplanin (10.4%). Patients discharged with MRSA-active antibiotics (n = 480) were most frequently prescribed linezolid (42.1%) and clindamycin (19.8%). IV treatment duration (9.3 ± 6.5 vs. 14.6 ± 9.9 days; p <0.001) and hospital LOS (19.1 ± 12.9 vs. 21.0 ± 18.2 days; p 0.162) tended to be shorter for patients switched from IV to oral treatment than for patients who received IV treatment only. Of the patients, 33.6% met ES criteria and could have discontinued IV treatment 6.0 ± 5.5 days earlier, and 37.9% met ED criteria and could have been discharged 6.2 ± 8.2 days earlier. More than one-third of European patients hospitalized for MRSA cSSTI could be eligible for ES and ED, resulting in substantial reductions in IV days and bed-days, with potential savings of €2000 per ED-eligible patient

Intraclonal diversity in a Sezary syndrome with a differential response to 2‐deoxycoformycin of the two lymphoma cell populations

Br J Haematol. 2002 Dec;119(3):629-33. Intraclonal diversity in a Sezary syndrome with a differential response to 2-deoxycoformycin of the two lymphoma cell populations. Granjo E, Lima M, Lopes JM, Cunha N, Teixeira Mdos A, Santos F, Candeias J, Resende C, Santos AH, Balanzategui A, Orfão A, Matutes E. Department of Clinical Haematology, Hospital Geral de São João, Porto, Portugal. [email protected] Abstract We report a case of Sezary syndrome with two abnormal CD4+ T-cell populations detected in the peripheral blood by flow cytometry immunophenotyping and DNA cell content, suggesting a biclonal T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Despite these findings, molecular analysis of the T-cell receptor genes was consistent with a monoclonal T-cell proliferation, supporting the existence of intraclonal diversity rather than a true biclonal disease. The patient achieved a transient response with 2-deoxycoformycin, with a selective decrease of the larger/hyperploid T-cell population; later on, an increased representation of this T-cell population was observed concomitantly with clinical relapse. PMID: 12437636 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Constraining the dark energy with galaxy clusters X-ray data

The equation of state characterizing the dark energy component is constrained by combining Chandra observations of the X-ray luminosity of galaxy clusters with independent measurements of the baryonic matter density and the latest measurements of the Hubble parameter as given by the HST key project. By assuming a spatially flat scenario driven by a "quintessence" component with an equation of state $p_x = \omega \rho_x$ we place the following limits on the cosmological parameters $\omega$ and $\Omega_{\rm{m}}$: (i) $-1 \leq \omega \leq -0.55$ and $\Omega_{\rm m} = 0.32^{+0.027}_{-0.014}$ (1$\sigma$) if the equation of state of the dark energy is restricted to the interval $-1 \leq \omega < 0$ (\emph{usual} quintessence) and (ii) $\omega = -1.29^{+0.686}_{-0.792}$ and $\Omega_{\rm{m}} = 0.31^{+0.037}_{-0.034}$ ($1\sigma$) if $\omega$ violates the null energy condition and assume values $< -1$ (\emph{extended} quintessence or ``phantom'' energy). These results are in good agreement with independent studies based on supernovae observations, large-scale structure and the anisotropies of the cosmic background radiation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, LaTe

Biochemical parameters of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) after transport with eugenol or essential oil of Lippia alba added to the water

The transport of live fish is a routine practice in aquaculture and constitutes a considerable source of stress to the animals. The addition of anesthetic to the water used for fish transport can prevent or mitigate the deleterious effects of transport stress. This study investigated the effects of the addition of eugenol (EUG) (1.5 or 3.0 mu L L-1) and essential oil of Lippia alba (EOL) (10 or 20 mu L L-1) on metabolic parameters (glycogen, lactate and total protein levels) in liver and muscle, acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE) in muscle and brain, and the levels of protein carbonyl (PC), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and nonprotein thiol groups (NPSH) and activity of glutathione-S-transferase in the liver of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen; Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) transported for four hours in plastic bags (loading density of 169.2 g L-1). The addition of various concentrations of EUG (1.5 or 3.0 mu L L-1) and EOL (10 or 20 mu L L-1) to the transport water is advisable for the transportation of silver catfish, since both concentrations of these substances increased the levels of NPSH antioxidant and decreased the TBARS levels in the liver. In addition, the lower liver levels of glycogen and lactate in these groups and lower AChE activity in the brain (EOL 10 or 20 mu L L-1) compared to the control group indicate that the energetic metabolism and neurotransmission were lower after administration of anesthetics, contributing to the maintenance of homeostasis and sedation status.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS/PRONEX) [10/0016-8]; Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cientifico (CNPq) [470964/2009-0]; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES); CNPqinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nonsingular FRW cosmology and nonlinear electrodynamics

The possibility to avoid the cosmic initial singularity as a consequence of nonlinear effects on the Maxwell eletromagnetic theory is discussed. For a flat FRW geometry we derive the general nonsingular solution supported by a magnetic field plus a cosmic fluid and a nonvanishing vacuum energy density. The nonsingular behavior of solutions with a time-dependent $\Lambda(t)$-term are also examined. As a general result, it is found that the functional dependence of $\Lambda(t)$ can uniquely be determined only if the magnetic field remains constant. All these models are examples of bouncing universes which may exhibit an inflationary dynamics driven by the nonlinear corrections of the magnetic field.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure