Role of Adrenergic Receptors in Glucose, Fructose and Galactose-Induced Increases in Intestinal Glucose Uptake in Dogs

The study investigated the role of adrenergic receptors in glucose, fructose-, and galactose- induced increases in intestinal glucose uptake. Experiments were carried out on fasted male anaesthetized Nigerian local dogs divided into seven groups (with five dogs per group). Group I dogs were administered normal saline and served as control. Dogs in groups II, III and IV were intravenously infused with glucose (1.1 mg/kg/min), fructose (1.1 mg/kg/min) and galactose (1.1 mg/kg/min) respectively. Another three groups, V, VI and VII were pretreated with prazosin (0.2mg/kg), propranolol (0.5mg/kg) or a combination of prazosin (0.2mg/kg) and propranolol (0.5mg/kg) followed by glucose infusion, frutose infusion or galactose infusion respectively. Through a midline laparatomy, the upper jejunum was cannulated for blood flow measurement and blood samples were obtained for measurement of glucose content of the arterial blood and venous blood from the upper jejunal segment. Glucose uptake was calculated as the product of jejunal blood flow and the difference between arterial and venous glucose levels (A-V glucose). The results showed that pretreatment of the animal with prazosin had no effect on glucose and galactose induced increases in glucose uptake. However, pretreatment with propranolol completely abolished glucose, fructose and galactose-induced increases in intestinal glucose uptake. Prazosin also significantly reduced galactose-induced increase in intestinal glucose uptake. The results suggest that the increases in intestinal glucose uptake induced by glucose and fructose are mediated mostly by beta adrenergic receptors while that of galactose is mediated by both alpha and beta adrenergic receptors.Keywords: Hexoses administration, Adrenergic receptors, Glucose uptake, Dog

Racial Disparities in Medication Use During Pregnancy: Results from the NISAMI Cohort

Caroline Tianeze de Castro,1 Lisiane Freitas Leal,2 Dandara de Oliveira Ramos,1 Jerusa da Mota Santana,3 Rosa Cândida Cordeiro,3,4 Maria da Conceição Costa Rivemales,3,4 Edna Maria de Araújo,5 Carlos Alberto Lima da Silva,5 Marcos Pereira,1 Djanilson Barbosa dos Santos3– 5 1Institute of Collective Health, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 2Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine Centre de Recherche, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 3Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil; 4Postgraduation Program in Health for the Black and Indigenous Population, Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, Santo Antônio de Jesus, Bahia, Brazil; 5State University of Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Bahia, BrazilCorrespondence: Caroline Tianeze de Castro, Institute of Collective Health, Federal University of Bahia, Basílio da Gama Street, no number, Canela Campus, Salvador, Bahia, 40.110-040, Brazil, Email [email protected]: This study aimed to evaluate racial disparities in medication use and associated factors among pregnant women receiving prenatal care at Brazilian Unified Health System primary care health units in the northeast region.Patients and Methods: A total of 1058 pregnant women in the NISAMI Cohort were interviewed between June 2012 and February 2014. Medicines used during pregnancy were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system and ANVISA pregnancy risk categories. Prevalence ratios (crude and adjusted) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Poisson regression with robust error variance. All analyses were stratified by race (Asian, black, brown/mixed, Brazilian indigenous, and white).Results: Approximately 84% of the pregnant women used at least one medication, with a lower proportion among white women. The most reported medications were antianemic preparations (71.08%; 95% CI 68.27– 73.72%), analgesics (21.74%; 95% CI 19.36– 24.32%), and drugs for functional gastrointestinal disorders (18.81%; 95% CI 16.57– 21.28%). Approximately 29% of women took potentially risky medications during pregnancy, with a higher prevalence among Asian and white women. Factors associated with medication use during pregnancy include a greater number of prenatal consultations, higher education levels, health problems, and smoking. In addition, maternal age above 25 years, smoking status, and two or more previous pregnancies were associated with potentially risky medication use during pregnancy.Conclusion: A high prevalence of medication use during pregnancy was found; however, this prevalence was lower among white women. Nonetheless, black and brown women used antianemic preparations less frequently. This finding suggests that race is a factor of inequity in prenatal care, demanding public policies to mitigate it.Keywords: drug utilization, racial groups, pregnancy, pharmacoepidemiology, cohort studie

Knowing the enemy: ant behavior and control in a pediatric hospital of Buenos Aires

Ant control is difficult in systems even where a variety of control strategies and compounds are allowed; in sensitive places such as hospitals, where there are often restrictions on the methods and toxicants to be applied, the challenge is even greater. Here we report the methods and results of how we faced this challenge of controlling ants in a pediatric hospital using baits. Our strategy was based on identifying the species present and analyzing their behavior. On the one hand, we evaluated outdoors in the green areas of the hospital, the relative abundance of ant genera, their food preferences and the behavioral dominances. On the other hand, control treatments were performed using separately two boron compounds added to sucrose solution which was not highly concentrated to avoid constrains due to the viscosity. Most of the species in the food preference test accepted sugary food; only one species was recorded to visit it less than the protein foods. This result was consistent with the efficacy of control treatments by sugary baits within the rooms. For species that showed good acceptance of sugar solutions in the preference test outdoors, sugar bait control indoors was 100& effective. Conversely, for the only species that foraged significantly less on sugar food, the bait treatment was ineffective. This work reveals the importance of considering the behavior and feeding preferences of the species to be controlled by toxic baits.Fil: Josens, Roxana Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Sola, Francisco Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Marchisio, Nahuel Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Di Renzo, María Agostina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental. Laboratorio del Grupo de Estudio de Insectos Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Giacometti, Alina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias; Argentin