Immobilization of lectin preparations from Moringa oleifera seeds in inert supports for water purification

Humic acids are linked to the formation of carcinogenic disinfection by-products upon chlorination of drinking water. In this work the first focus was tocharacterize the affinity of protein preparations obtained from Moringa oleifera seeds (extract, E, fraction, 0-60F and M.oleifera lectin, MoL) to bind humic acids. The second focus was to select a suitable support to immobilize MoL and to assess humic acid removal from water in a packed bed column. Specific hemagglutinating activity (SHA) decreased by 94 % for both E and MoL and by 50 % for 0-60F in the presence of a commercial humic acid. Humic acid-MoL precipitation bands were observed in the diffusion gel. Both results indicate humic acid-lectin binding. Carbohydrates, potassium and calcium ions as well as pH va-lues affected the SHA of MoL. Ahumic acid removal of 30.4 mg/g (expressed as mass of humic acid per mass of support) was obtained in a column packed with sepharose immobilized MoL receiving a 20 mg/L of carbon humic acid solution

Moringa oleifera lectin and binding affinity to humic acids : application to water treatment

Humic acids, natural organic matter, constitute a problem in water treatment; they react with chlorine forming undesirable disinfection byproducts. The aim of this work was the purification of a saline soluble Moringa oleifera lectin (SSMoL) and characterization of its affinity to humic acids. SSMoL isolation included extraction of seed flour, saline fractionation and guar gel chromatography. Hemagglutinating activity (HA) of extract (E), fraction (0-60F) and SSMoL was assessed with rabbit erythrocytes. HA inhibitions were done with humic acid, carbohydrates, glycoproteins and halogenated organic compounds. Diffusion experiments with humic acid and lectin preparations were performed in agarose gel. Basic SSMoL showed two polypeptide bands with ß-mercapthoethanol treatment. SSMoL HA with humic acid decreased from 512-1 to 32-1. Similar results were obtained with E and 0-60F. SSMoL was partially inhibited by carbohydrates and glycoproteins; azocasein abolished SSMoL activity. SSMoL HA was not altered with trichloroacetic and dicholoroacetic acids, or chloroform. Precipitation bands were observed in diffusion gel. The present study foresees a future application of SSMoL in water treatment to remove humic acids

Primary adrenal insufficiency in adults: 150 years after Addison

Thomas Addison first described, 150 years ago, a clinical syndrome characterized by salt-wasting and skin hyperpigmentation, associated with a destruction of the adrenal gland. Even today, over a century after Addison's report, primary adrenal insufficiency can present as a life-threatening condition, since it frequently goes unrecognized in its early stages. In the 1850 s, tuberculous adrenalitis was present in the majority of patients, but nowadays, autoimmune Addison's disease is the most common cause of primary adrenal insufficiency. In the present report, we show the prevalence of different etiologies, clinical manifestations and laboratorial findings, including the adrenal cortex autoantibody, and 21-hydroxylase antibody in a Brazilian series of patients with primary adrenal insufficiency followed at Divisão de Endocrinologia da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) and at Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto - USP (FMRP-USP).Thomas Addison descreveu pela primeira vez, há 150 anos, uma síndrome clínica de perda de sal em indivíduos com hiperpigmentação cutânea, associada à destruição da glândula adrenal. Atualmente, a insuficiência adrenal ainda representa uma condição de risco, pois seu diagnóstico é freqüentemente não reconhecido nas fases iniciais da doença. A adrenalite tuberculosa era a causa mais freqüente na maioria dos casos descritos inicialmente, mas, na atualidade, a doença de Addison auto-imune está presente em uma grande porcentagem de pacientes com insuficiência adrenal primária. No presente trabalho, apresentamos a prevalência das diferentes causas, manifestações clínicas e achados laboratoriais, incluindo a determinação de anticorpos anticórtex adrenal e anti-21-hidroxilase em pacientes acompanhados com insuficiência adrenal primária seguidos nos Ambulatórios das Divisões de Endocrinologia da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) e da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto - USP (FMRP-USP).Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto Departamento de Clínica MédicaUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto Departamento de FisiologiaUNIFESPSciEL

Coagulant and antibacterial activities of the water-soluble seed lectin from Moringa oleifera

Aims: The aim of this work was to analyse the coagulant and antibacterial activities of lectin isolated from Moringa oleifera seeds that are used for water treatment. Methods and Results:  The water-soluble M. oleifera lectin (WSMoL) was separated from nonhemagglutinating components (NHC) by chitin chromatography. WSMoL fluorescence spectrum was not altered in the presence of ions that are often present in high concentrations in polluted waters. Seed extract, NHC and WSMoL showed coagulant activity on a turbid water model. Both NHC and WSMoL reduced the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, but only WSMoL caused a reduction in Escherichia coli. WSMoL was also more effective in reducing the growth of ambient lake water bacteria. Conclusions:  Data obtained from this study indicate that WSMoL is a potential natural biocoagulant for water, reducing turbidity, suspended solids and bacteria. Significance and Impact of the Study: Moringa oleifera seeds are a material effective in the treatment of water.The authors express their gratitude to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) for research grants and fellowship (LCBBC, MLVO and PMGP), the Fundacao de Amparo a Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) and the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) for financial support. Authors are grateful to Maria Barbosa Reis da Silva for the technical assistance and to David Pillard and Felix Nonnenmacher for English editing

Endometriose

Endometriosis is characterized by the dissemination of glands and endometrial stroma to ectopic sites in the uterine cavity and musculature. It is a contrasting disease that presents no association between clinical status and quantity of lesions. Some of the patients present asymptomatic, whereas others present diverse manifestation of clinical status characterized by pelvic pain, infertility, dysmenorrhea, and dyspareunia. The etiopathogeny of endometriosis is uncertain, and the most widely known hypotheses are related to celomic metaplasia, to transplantation, and to induction. The diagnosis of endometriosis is usually carried out through laparoscopy, in which case the identification of typical lesions confirms the diagnosis. Treatment for endometriosis includes induction of a pseudopregnancy state. There are many drugs that can be used to induce pregnancy, such as progestational hormones, derived forms of androgen, birth-control medication, and analogous forms of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Endometriosis can also be surgically treated with a conservative procedure of cauterization and/or resection of the lesions. Cases of endometriosis that are more resistant or that occur in patients who are not worried about their fertility can be managed with more aggressive surgical procedures such as hysterectomy, for example. Infertility is treated with techniques of assisted reproduction in cases associated with anatomical factors. In all forms of treatment there is a relatively high incidence of recurrence and failure, in which case different therapeutic options should be employed.Endometriose é caracterizada pela presença de glândulas e estroma endometrial fora da cavidade e musculatura uterinas. É uma doença de contrastes, onde não há associação entre a intensidade do quadro clínico e a quantidade das lesões. Uma parcela das pacientes são assintomáticas, com a outra porção variando na apresentação do quadro clínico que é caracterizado por dor pélvica, infertilidade, dismenorréia e dispareunia. Não existe até o momento uma etiopatogenia definida para a endometriose e as teorias mais conhecidas envolvem a metaplasia celômica, os implantes ectópicos e a indução de células multipotenciais. O diagnóstico da endometriose normalmente é realizado através da laparoscopia, onde a identificação de lesões características firma o diagnóstico. O tratamento pressupõe um estado de pseudogestação. Há diversas medicações que produzem esse efeito como os progestágenos, os derivados androgênicos, os anticoncepcionais e os análogos do hormônio liberador de gonadotrofinas (GnRH). Outra forma de tratamento é o cirúrgico conservador onde há cauterização e/ou ressecção das lesões. Os casos mais resistentes ou onde não existe mais preocupação com fertilidade podem ser manejados com tratamentos cirúrgicos mais agressivos como a histerectomia. A infertilidade é tratada com técnicas de reprodução assistida quando há fator anatômico associado. Em todas as formas de tratamento há um índice relativamente alto de recorrências e falhas a determinados tipos de tratamento, que devem ser manejados com outras opções terapêuticas.

Infertilidade masculina

Between 10 to 15% of couples can be unsuccessful at trying to have children after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. About 50% of cases of infertility are related to male infertility. The cause of male infertility, in turn, is frequently associated with sperm alterations. Traditionally, male infertility has been considered as a condition that is difficult to be treated. New studies in the field of Genetics have presented findings of deletion or mutation in groups of genes that could have a causal relation to infertility in male patients. Most advancements in the treatment of male infertility are in the area of assisted reproduction, which, in turn, has developed following the progress in technologies of gamete micromanipulation. Our study is aimed at assessing causes of, and treatment for male infertility. Entre 10 a 15% dos casais falham em ter filhos após um ano de intercursos sexuais não protegidos. Cerca de 50% das causas de infertilidade são de origem masculina. Como causa simples de infertilidade, alterações espermáticas são a condição mais freqüente. A infertilidade de causa masculina foi tradicionalmente considerada como uma condição de difícil tratamento. Novos estudos na área da genética têm encontrado deleções ou mutações em grupos de genes que poderiam explicar a infertilidade nesses pacientes. A maior parte dos avanços no tratamento destes casos reside nas técnicas de reprodução assistida, que tiveram seu maior avanço após o desenvolvimento da tecnologia da micromanipulação de gametas. O presente trabalho faz uma análise de causas e de tratamentos para dar solução à infertilidade masculina.

IMPACTOS DA COVID-19 NOS DIREITOS HUMANOS

O conceito de direitos humanos não é consensual, contudo, persiste na cultura moral, política e jurídica do mundo moderno. O Estado sempre ocupou um lugar ambíguo e dialético, sendo hora diretamente ou indiretamente responsável pela ofensa, hora responsável pela proteção de direitos. Para além do aspecto da legitimidade, a pandemia da Covid-19 remeteu a um problema bem mais contundente relacionado com a política adotada pelo Governo brasileiro e seus efeitos. Para conhecer a percepção de moradores da cidade do Rio de Janeiro sobre diferentes aspectos relacionados com os impactos da Covid-19 sobre 5 direitos básicos: saúde, educação, liberdade de ir e vir, trabalho e renda, e voto, foi realizada uma pesquisa quantitativa do tipo web survey. Para alcançar os respondentes foi utilizado o método bola de neve, resposta e repasse do questionário, tendo como ponto de partida os contatos pessoais dos autores, docentes e discentes da ENCE, discentes da Faculdade de Direito da UERJ e servidores do IBGE. Como resultado, a grande maioria dos respondentes identificou os cinco direitos citados como Direitos Humanos e revelou acreditar que: 1) há responsabilidade do poder público, seja por ação ou omissão, nas limitações de direitos; 2) a restrição de algum dos direitos mencionados é justificável durante a pandemia; 3) os impactos das limitações de direitos sobre as classes socioeconômicas mais baixas foi maior; 4) estão insatisfeitos com a atuação do Governo Federal no que se refere a criação de medidas para amenizar os impactos da pandemia da Covid-19 e com o nível de rapidez, eficácia e rigidez das medidas adotadas; e, por fim, 5) que estão cumprindo as regras de isolamento social ao mesmo tempo em que outros moradores da cidade do Rio de Janeiro não estão

Preparação de lectinas de Moringa oleifera com atividade coagulante

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toxic Metals (Pb and Cd) and Their Respective Antagonists (Ca and Zn) in Infant Formulas and Milk Marketed in Brasilia, Brazil

In non-ideal scenarios involving partial or non-breastfeeding, cow’s milk-based dairy products are mainstream in infant feeding. Therefore, it is important to study the concentrations of potentially neurotoxic contaminants (Pb and Cd) and their respective counteracting elements (Ca and Zn) in infant dairy products. Fifty-five brands of infant formulas and milk sold in Brasilia, Brazil were analyzed. The dairy products came from areas in the central-west (26%), southeast (29%) and south of Brazil (36%) extending as far as Argentina (7%) and the Netherlands (2%). For toxic Pb and Cd, median concentrations in powdered samples were 0.109 mg/kg and 0.033 mg/kg, respectively; in fluid samples median Pb concentration was 0.084 mg/kg, but median Cd concentration was below the limit of detection and overall values were below reference safety levels. However, 62% of these samples presented higher Pb concentration values than those established by FAO/WHO. Although the inverse correlation between Cd and Zn (Spearman r = −0.116; P = 0.590) was not statistically significant, the positive correlation between Ca and Pb was (Spearman r = 0.619; P < 0.0001). Additionally, there was a significant correlation between Pb and Cd. Furthermore, the study also revealed that provision of the essential trace element Zn in infant formulas can provide adequate amounts of the recommended daily requirements. Infant formulas and milk sold for consumption by infants and children can be an efficient tool to monitor neurotoxic metal risk exposure among young children