Topical application of acyclovir-loaded microparticles: quantification of the drug in porcine skin layers.

The goal of this work was to increase the amount of acyclovir (ACV) in the basal epidermis, site of Herpes virus simplex infections, using microparticles as carriers. Poly(d,l-lactic–co-glycolic acid) microparticles loaded with ACV were prepared using a solvent evaporation technique. ACV distribution into porcine skin after topical application of microparticles for 6, 24 and 88 h, was determined by horizontal slicing of the skin. An ACV suspension served for comparison. The results showed that, at 6 and 24 h, the quantity of the drug in the basal epidermis with the microparticles, is similar to that obtained with the ACV suspension. However, after 88 h, the ACV reservoir in the basal epidermis was higher with the microparticles compared with the control suspension. This could be explained by the controlled drug release produced by the vector in the basal epidermis. Besides, at 88 h the amount of ACV detected in the receptor chamber of the diffusion cells was much lower with the microparticles than with the suspension. This type of carrier can improve acyclovir topical therapy since it increases drug retention in the basal epidermis and consequently increases the time intervals between doses

Assessing the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in thyroglobulin gene with age of puberty in bulls

Puberty is a stage of sexual development determined by the interaction of many loci and environmental factors. Identification of genes contributing to genetic variation in this character can assist with selection for early pubertal bulls, improving genetic progress in livestock breeding. Thyroid hormones play an important role in sexual development and spermatogenic function. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in thyroglobulin(TG) gene with age of puberty in Angus bulls. Four SNPs were genotyped in 273 animals using SEQUENOM technology and the association between markers and puberty age was analyzed. Results showed a significant association (P < 0.05) between these markers and puberty age estimated at a sperm concentration of 50 million and a progressive motility of 10%. This is the first report of an association of TG polymorphisms with age of puberty in bulls, and results suggest the importance of thyroidal regulation in bovine sexual development and arrival to puberty.Fil: Fernandez, María Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Goszczynski, Daniel Estanislao. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Prando, Alberto José. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Peral Garcia, Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Baldo, Andrés. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Giovambattista, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Liron, Juan Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "ingeniero Fernando Noel Dulout"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; Argentin

Impact of the new handling recommendations for hazardous drugs in a hospital pharmacy service

Objective: To describe the actions taken by the Pharmacy Unit in a tertiary hospital in order to adapt to the recommendations established by NIOSH 2014 for handling Hazardous Drugs. Method: A retrospective observational study. A list was prepared including all hazardous drugs according to NIOSH 2014 that were available at the hospital as marketed or foreign drugs, or used in clinical trials, and there was a review of the processes of acquisition, repackaging, preparation, circuits, organizational, dispensing and identification. Results: After the analysis, a report including all needs was prepared and sent to the Hospital Management. Any relevant information about the handling and administration of hazardous drugs was included in the prescription computer program. There were changes in the acquisition process of two drugs, in order to avoid splitting and multi-dose formulations. An alternative or improvement was found for 35 253 of the 75 779 units of hazardous drugs repackaged in one year. The Pharmacy Unit took over the preparation of four non-sterile medications, as well as the preparation of all sterile parenteral medications included in Lists 1 and 2 that were not previously prepared there, as well as one from List 3. Information was also included about the preparation processes of Magistral Formulations that involved hazardous drugs from Lists 2 or 3

Optimization of topical cidofovir penetration using microparticles.

Edelfosine is the prototype molecule of a family of anticancer drugs collectively known as synthetic alkyl-lysophospholipids. This drug holds promise as a selective antitumor agent, and a number of preclinical assays are in progress. In this study, we observe the accumulation of edelfosine in brain tissue after its oral administration in Compritol® and Precirol® lipid nanoparticles (LN). The high accumulation of edelfosine in brain was due to the inhibition of P-glycoprotein by Tween® 80, as verified using a P-glycoprotein drug interaction assay. Moreover, these LN were tested in vitro against the C6 glioma cell line, which was later employed to establish an in vivo xenograft mouse model of glioma. In vitro studies revealed that edelfosine-loaded LN induced an antiproliferative effect in C6 glioma cell line. In addition, in vivo oral administration of drug-loaded LN in NMRI nude mice bearing a C6 glioma xenograft tumor induced a highly significant reduction in tumor growth (p < 0.01) 14 days after the beginning of the treatment. Our results showed that Tween® 80 coated Compritol® and Precirol® LN can effectively inhibit the growth of C6 glioma cells in vitro and suggest that edelfosine-loaded LN represent an attractive option for the enhancement of antitumor activity on brain tumors in vivo

Bases de datos en genética forense

En la práctica de genética forense de rutina, una vez que las muestras llegan al laboratorio, se realizan una serie de pasos sucesivos durante la resolución de casos forenses: extracción de ADN, tipificación de los marcadores genéticos, análisis de los resultados, estimación de los índices forenses y redacción de informes. Es por esta razón que los genetistas forenses, tanto dedicados a genética forense humana como no humana, deben recurrir a las bases de datos genéticos para estimar estadísticamente el valor de los resultados presentados en los informes forenses y, por lo tanto, determinar el peso de la evidencia en un juicio. Además, es frecuente que el perfil de ADN de una evidencia tenga que ser comparado con uno obtenido previamente, motivo por el cual ha surgido la necesidad de implementar las denominadas bases datos forenses, definidas como "el conjunto de programas informáticos (software) y soportes físicos (hardware) donde se almacena de modo ordenado y coherente la información de los perfiles genéticos, así como todo dato asociado a la muestra/individuo, información que luego puede ser recuperada y comparada de modo automático de acuerdo a parámetros previamente establecidos“.Fil: Giovambattista, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Goszczynski, Daniel Estanislao. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, María Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Liron, Juan Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Peral Garcia, Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; Argentin

Changes in retinal OCT and their correlations with neurological disability in early ALS patients, a follow-up study

Background: To compare early visual changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients with healthy controls in a baseline exploration, to follow-up the patients after 6 months, and to correlate these visual changes with neurological disability. Methods: All patients underwent a comprehensive neurological and ophthalmological examination. A linear mixed analysis and Bonferroni p-value correction were performed, testing four comparisons as follows: Control baseline vs. control follow-up, control baseline vs. ALS baseline, control follow-up vs. ALS follow-up, and ALS baseline vs. ALS follow-up. Results: The mean time from the diagnosis was 10.80 +/- 5.5 months. The analysis of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed: (1) In ALS baseline vs. control baseline, a macular significantly increased thickness of the inner macular ring temporal and inferior areas; (2) in ALS follow-up vs. ALS baseline, a significant macular thinning in the inner and outer macular ring inferior areas; (3) in ALS follow-up vs. ALS baseline, a significant peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thinning in the superior and inferior quadrants; and (4) ALS patients showed a moderate correlation between some OCT pRNFL parameters and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) score. Conclusion: The OCT showed retinal changes in patients with motoneuron disease and could serve as a complementary tool for studying ALS

Theory-driven, rapid formative research on quality improvement intervention for critical care of patients with COVID-19 in Argentina

The challenges of implementing interventions in healthcare settings have been more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pre-implementation evaluation used a rapid qualitative approach to explore barriers and facilitators to an intervention in intensive care units in Argentina, aimed to promote the use of personal protection equipment, provide emotional support for professionals, and achieve patient flow goals. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with health professionals of 15 public hospitals in Argentina. Normalization Process Theory was used to guide content analysis of the data. Participants identified potential barriers such as the incorporation of non-specialist staff, shortage of resources, lack of communication between groups and shifts. Potential facilitators were also identified: regular feedback and communication related to implementation, adequate training for new and non-specialist staff, and incentives (e.g., scholarships). The immediacy of the pandemic demanded rapid qualitative research, sharing actionable findings in real time.Fil: Roberti, Javier Eugenio. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Jorro Baron, Facundo Ariel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Viviana Rita. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Belizán, María. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Arias, Pilar. No especifíca;Fil: Ratto, María Elena. No especifíca;Fil: Reina, Rosa. No especifíca;Fil: Ini, Natali Denise. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Loudet, Cecilia. No especifíca;Fil: Garcia Elorrio, Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentin

Anatomy of the Human Optic Nerve: Structure and Function

The optic nerve (ON) is constituted by the axons of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). These axons are distributed in an organized pattern from the soma of the RGC to the lateral geniculated nucleus (where most of the neurons synapse). The key points of the ON are the optic nerve head and chiasm. This chapter will include a detailed and updated review of the ON different parts: RGC axons, glial cells, connective tissue of the lamina cribrosa and the septum and the blood vessels derivate from the central retina artery and from the ciliary system. There will be an up-to-date description about the superficial nerve fibre layer, including their organization, and about prelaminar, laminar and retrolaminar regions, emphasizing the axoplasmic flow, glial barriers, biomechanics of the lamina cribrosa and the role of the macro- and microglia in their working

Benthic community recovery from brine impact after the implementation of mitigation measures

In many regions, seawater desalination is a growing industry that has its impact on benthic communities. This study analyses the effect on benthic communities of a mitigation measure applied to a brine discharge, using polychaete assemblages as indicator. An eight-year study was conducted at San Pedro del Pinatar (SE Spain) establishing a grid of 12 sites at a depth range of 29–38 m during autumn. Brine discharge started in 2006 and produced a significant decrease in abundance, richness and diversity of polychaete families at the location closest to the discharge, where salinity reached 49. In 2010, a diffuser was deployed at the end of the pipeline in order to increase the mixing, to reduce the impact on benthic communities. After implementation of this mitigation measure, the salinity measured close to discharge was less than 38.5 and a significant recovery in polychaete richness and diversity was detected, to levels similar to those before the discharge. A less evident recovery in abundance was also observed, probably due to different recovery rates of polychaete families. Some families like Paraonidae and Magelonidae were more tolerant to this impact. Others like Syllidae and Capitellidae recovered quickly, although still affected by the discharge, while some families such as Sabellidae and Cirratulidae appeared to recover more slowly.These surveys were funded by the Mancomunidad de Canales del Taibilla