Development and reliability of an instrument to measure psychosocial determinants of salt consumption among hypertensive patients

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo presentar el análisis de validez de contenido y de confiabilidad de un instrumento para estudiar los factores determinantes del consumo de sodio entre hipertensos, basado en la extensión de la Teoría del Comportamiento Planificado. El instrumento fue sometido a validez de contenido por 3 jueces y a una prueba piloto con 5 sujetos. El instrumento final, compuesto por 3 comportamientos relacionados al consumo de la sal y por las variables psicosociales correspondientes, fue aplicado a 32 sujetos para evaluación de la consistencia interna y de la estabilidad temporal (intervalo de 15 días). Fueron observados coeficientes alfa de Cronbach>;0,70 para la mayoría de las variables y coeficientes de correlación entra clases significativas, que apuntaron la estabilidad temporal de los conceptos mensurados. El instrumento desarrollado mostró evidencias de validez de contenido y de confiabilidad.This study aimed to present the content validity and reliability analyses of an instrument to study the determinant factors of salt consumption among hypertensive subjects, based on an extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Content validity was assessed by 3 experts and a pre-test was carried out with 5 subjects. The final tool, comprising 3 different behaviors related to salt consumption and corresponding psychosocial variables, was applied to 32 subjects for internal consistency and temporal stability (15-day interval) analysis. Cronbach's alpha coefficients >; 0.70 and significant intra-class correlation coefficients were observed for most variables, indicating the temporal stability of the measured concepts. The developed instrument exhibited evidence of both content validity and reliability.Este estudo teve como objetivo apresentar a análise da validade de conteúdo e da confiabilidade de um instrumento para estudo dos fatores determinantes do consumo de sódio entre hipertensos, baseado na extensão da Teoria do Comportamento Planejado. O instrumento foi submetido à validade de conteúdo por 3 juízes e pré-teste com 5 sujeitos. O instrumento final, composto por 3 comportamentos relacionados ao consumo de sal e pelas variáveis psicossociais correspondentes, foi aplicado a 32 sujeitos para avaliação da consistência interna e da estabilidade temporal (intervalo de 15 dias). Foram observados coeficientes alfa de Cronbach>;0,70 para a maioria das variáveis e coeficientes de correlação intraclasse significativos, apontando para a estabilidade temporal dos conceitos mensurados. O instrumento desenvolvido mostrou evidências de validade de conteúdo e de confiabilidade

Antimicrobial Activity of the Essential Oil of Plectranthus neochilus

This work used the broth microdilution method to investigate the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil obtained from the leaves of Plectranthus neochilus (PN-EO) against a representative panel of oral pathogens. We assessed the antimicrobial activity of this oil in terms of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). PN-EO displayed moderate activity against Enterococcus faecalis (MIC = 250 μg/mL) and Streptococcus salivarus (MIC = 250 μg/mL), significant activity against Streptococcus sobrinus (MIC = 62.5 μg/mL), Streptococcus sanguinis (MIC = 62.5 μg/mL), Streptococcus mitis (MIC = 31.25 μg/mL), and Lactobacillus casei (MIC = 31.25 μg/mL), and interesting activity against Streptococcus mutans (MIC = 3.9 μg/mL). GC-FID and GC-MS helped to identify thirty-one compounds in PN-EO; α-pinene (1, 14.1%), β-pinene (2, 7.1%), trans-caryophyllene (3, 29.8%), and caryophyllene oxide (4, 12.8%) were the major chemical constituents of this essential oil. When tested alone, compounds 1, 2, 3, and 4 were inactive (MIC > 4000 μg/mL) against all the microorganisms. These results suggested that the essential oil extracted from the leaves of Plectranthus neochilus displays promising activity against most of the evaluated cariogenic bacteria, especially S. mutans

Antibacterial evaluation of Styrax pohlii and isolated compounds

The antibacterial activity of the compounds egonol (1) and homoegonol (2), of the crude ethanolic extract of Styrax pohlii (Styracaceae) aerial parts (EE), and of its n-hexane (HF), EtOAc (EF), n-BuOH (BF), and hydromethanolic (HMF) fractions was evaluated against the following microorganisms: Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 6305), S. pyogenes (ATCC 19615), Haemophilus influenzae (ATCC 10211), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 10031). The broth microdilution method was used for determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) during preliminary evaluation of antibacterial activity. The EE yielded MIC values of 400 µg/mL for S. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa and 300 µg/mL for H. influenzae. The HF and EF fractions exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity, with MIC values of 200 µg/mL against S. pneumoniae, but only EF displayed activity against H. influenzae (MIC 200 µg/mL). The best MIC value with compounds 1 and 2 (400 µg/mL) was obtained for (1) against S. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. Therefore, 1 exhibited weak antibacterial activity against these standard strains.As atividades antimicrobianas das substâncias egonol (1) e homoegonol (2), do extrato etanólico das partes aéreas de Styrax pohlii (Styracaceae) (EE), bem como das frações n-hexano (HF), AcOEt (EF), n-BuOH (BF) e hidrometanólica (HMF) foram avaliadas frente aos seguintes microorganismos: Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 6305), S. pyogenes (ATCC 19615), Haemophilus influenzae (ATCC 10211), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) e Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 10031). O método de microdiluição em caldo foi utilizado para a determinação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM) na avaliação preliminar da atividade antimicrobiana. EE mostrou valores de CIM de 400 µg/mL para S. pneumoniae e P. aeruginosa, e 300 µg/mL para H. influenzae. As frações HF e EF apresentaram melhora na atividade antimicrobiana, com valores de CIM de 200 µg/mL frente S. pneumoniae, mas apenas EF apresentou ação contra H. influenzae (200 µg/mL). Em relação às substâncias 1 e 2, o melhor valor de CIM (400 µg/mL) foi obtido por 1 frente a S. pneumoniae e P. aeruginosa, que exibiu fraca atividade antimicrobiana contra estas cepas padrões

Evaluation of the in vitro trypanocidal activity of triterpenes uvaol, betulinic acid and its semi-synthetic derivatives against the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi / Avaliação da atividade tripanocida in vitro dos triterpenos uvaol, ácido betulínico e seus derivados semissintéticos contra a cepa Y de Trypanosoma cruzi

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is the causative agent of Chagas disease and its transmission occurs through blood meal by triatomine bugs, being oral transmission the most common form. More than 100 years after the disease´s discovery, benzonidazole is the only efficient drug against T. cruzi; however, this drug has numerous serious side effects and is only efficient in the acute phase of the disease. Natural products, such as triterpenes, have been an important source of new substances to combat human parasitology. In this study, two triterpenes, uvaol and betulinic acid, were tested against the parasite T. cruzi. The best results of in vitro tests were observed for uvaol with an IC50 value of 70.3 µM against the trypomastigost forms and an IC50 value of 90.6 µM against the amastigost forms. Three semi-synthetic derivatives of betulinic acid were obtained; the acetylated derivative showed excellent results against trypomastigotes forms (IC50 = 15.67 µM), but was not active against the amastigotes forms. The cytotoxic MTT test was also performed on LLCMK2 cells (Macaca mullata kidney epithelial cells) and betulinic acid showed the highest selectivity index (SI) with a value of 1.3

Primeiro isolamento no Brasil de herpesvirus eqüino tipo 1 em um cavalo com doença neurológica

O presente relato refere-se ao primeiro isolamento no Brasil do herpesvírus eqüino tipo 1 (HVE-1) proveniente de um caso clínico de mieloncefalopatia herpética em uma égua, que evoluiu para o óbito. O isolado do HVE-1, denominado 07/05, foi obtido a partir de uma amostra de líquor na primeira passagem em células Vero, confirmando-se sua identidade pela PCR e pela prova de neutralização viral. Como o isolamento viral a partir do líquor geralmente não é bem sucedido, conforme demonstrado em vários relatos de casos, o presente achado sugere que a doença neurológica foi causada por uma amostra particularmente neurovirulenta de HVE-1This report describes the first Brazilian equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) isolation from a single fatal equine herpes myeloencephalopathy case in a mare. The isolation of EHV-1 was confirmed from the first passage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample in Vero cells by PCR and virus neutralization assay. As virus isolation from CSF is unlikely to be successful, as has been shown in several case reports, this circumstantial evidence suggests that the neurological disease was caused by particularly neurovirulent strain of EHV-1FAPES

Essential oil composition and antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Campomanesia pubescens O. Berg, Native of Brazilian Cerrado

In this study, the essential oil composition, total contents of phenolics and proanthocyanidins, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities from different plant parts (root, stem, leaf and fruit) of Campomanesia pubescens (DC) O. Berg from Brazilian Cerrado are reported. The root essential oil is distinguished from others by having only one representative of monoterpenes (alpha-terpenylacetate). The aerial parts of C. pubescens are rich in volatile terpenes, as expected, especially in fruits whose essential oil contained approximately 80 % of monoterpenes. The essential oils showed antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens. The root essential oil showed the strongest inhibition against Fusobacterium nucleatum (ATCC 25586). The leaf extract presented the highest concentration of phenolic and proanthocyanidins compounds. The lowest concentration necessary for inhibition of DPPH to 50 % ranged between 6.6 ± 1.6 and 56.6 ± 2.3 μg/mL. The leaf extract exhibited the highest inhibition, close to BHT.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Prevalence, treatment, and control of dyslipidemia in diabetic participants of two Brazilian cohorts: a place far from heaven

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular mortality. Over the last years, mortality has decreased significantly, more in individuals with diabetes than in healthy ones. That is mostly due to the control of other cardiovascular risk factors. The objective of our study was to analyze the dyslipidemia control in two diabetes cohorts. Patients from two distinct cohorts were studied, 173 patients from the BHS (Brasilia Heart Study) and 222 patients from the BDS (Brazilian Diabetes Study). The data on dyslipidemia control were studied in both different populations. All patients had diabetes. There are significant differences concerning comorbidities between the LDL-C and BDS groups. The average glycated hemoglobin is of 8.2 in the LDL-C > 100 group in comparison with 7.7 and 7.5 in the 70-100 and 100 groups (54.3% and 54.9%, respectively; p = 0.005). Diastolic pressure is higher in the group with LDL > 100, with an average of 87 mmHg, in comparison with 82.6 mmHg and 81.9 mmHg in the 70-100 and 100 has the greatest percentage of smokers (8.7%) in comparison with the groups with LDL between 70-100 and 100 groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The data in our study have shown that the dyslipidemia control in diabetic patients is inadequate and there is a tendency of direct association between lack of blood glucose control and lack of dyslipidemia control, in addition to the association with other cardiovascular risk factors, such as diastolic hypertension and smoking. This worsened control might be related to the plateau in the descending curve of mortality, and investments in this regard can improve the cardiovascular health in diabetic patients.6513

Antimicrobial activity of triterpene acids against phytopathogens / Atividade antimicrobiana de triterpenos ácidos contra fitopatógenos

Phytopathogenic microorganisms, responsible for causing diseases in various types of plantations, have an immense impact on crops, reducing food production, which is one of the main problems of agriculture. Antibiotics in association with cupric fungicides have been commonly used to solve this problem, but result in toxic residues to humans, animals and the environment, in addition to not being as effective as expected. Natural products, such as triterpenes, have become an important source of new substances to fight pathogens. In this study, the triterpenes ursolic acid, oleanolic acid and gypsogenic acid were re-isolated from Miconia stenostachya. The identification of all substances was carried out based on data obtained from 1H NMR, 13C-NMR and/or comparison with authentic standards. In the assays of antimicrobial activity against nine phytopathogenic bacteria, the triterpene gypsogenic acid was the most effective with a MIC value of 3.12; 25 and 100 µg/mL, for bacteria Ralstonia solanacearum, Pseudomonas syringae and Streptmyces scabiei, respectively. The cytotoxic activity results of gypsogenic acid in GM7492A cells (human fibroblasts) indicated that the substance promoted toxic effects in the strain only at higher concentrations (above of 500 µg/mL – 1,027.3 µM)