Telegram from Anthony Gagliotti, President of Unico National, to Geraldine Ferraro

Congratulatory telegram from Anthony Gagliotti, President of Unico National, to Geraldine Ferraro. Includes data entry sheet.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_correspondence_1984_new_york/1280/thumbnail.jp

Estudo do efeito anti-inflamatório da Ageratum conyzoides L., suas frações e compostos isolados

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmácia, Florianópolis, 2016.Ageratum conyzoides L. é utilizada na medicina popular brasileira como agente anti-inflamatório. Os objetivos deste estudo foram: I) Avaliar o efeito anti-inflamatório do extrato bruto (EB), das frações: etanol (EtOH-F), hexano (HEX-F), acetato de etila (AcOEt-F) e diclorometano (DCM-F) e dos compostos isolados 5'-metoxi nobiletina (MeONOB), 1,2-benzopirona (BP) e eupalestina (EP) da A. conyzoides L.; II) Elaborar uma revisão sistemática sobre o efeito anti-inflamatório das cumarinas (in vitro e in vivo). Neste estudo, foi utilizado o modelo da pleurisia induzida pela carragenina, em camundongos. Os parâmetros analisados foram: leucócitos, concentrações de: proteínas do exsudato, mieloperoxidase (MPO), adenosina desaminase (ADA), metabólitos do óxido nítrico (NOx) e citocinas (IL-10, IL-17A, IL-6, TNF-a, IFN-y, MCP-1) e fosforilação de p65 NF-kB (p-p65 NF-kB), p38 MAPK (p38 e p-p38 MAPK) e ERK (p-ERK). Para revisão sistemática, foi realizada a pesquisa de literatura publicada entre 01/01/2005 e 31/12/2015, nas bases de dados PUBMED, MEDLINE, Web of Science e Scopus, utilizando os termos 'anti-inflammatory' e 'coumarin' e 'in vivo' ou 'in vitro'. EB, frações e compostos isolados inibiram leucócitos, as concentrações de proteínas do exsudato de MPO, ADA e NOx (pAbstract : Ageratum conyzoides L. is used in Brazilian folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent. The aims of this study were: I) Evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of the crude extract (CE), of the fractions: ethanol (EtOH-F), hexane (HEX-F), ethyl acetate (EtOAc-F) and dichloromethane (DCM-F) and of the isolated compounds 5'-methoxy nobiletin (MeONOB), 1,2-benzopyrone (BP) and eupalestin (EP) from A. conyzoides L.; II) Make a systematic review about the anti-inflammatory properties of coumarins (in vitro and in vivo). In this study, the model of pleurisy induced by carrageenan was used, in mice. The parameters analysed were: leukocytes, concentrations of the exudate protein, of myeloperoxidase (MPO), of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and of nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), cytokines levels (IL-10, IL-17A, IL-6, TNF-a, IFN-y, MCP-1), and phosphorylation of p65 NF-kB (p-NF-kB p65), p38 MAPK (p38 and p-p38 MAPK) and ERK (p-ERK). For the systematic review, it was carried out the research of literature published between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015, in PUBMED, MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus using the keywords: 'anti- inflammatory' and 'coumarin' and 'in vivo' or 'in vitro'. CE, fractions and isolated compounds inhibited leukocyte, protein concentrations of the exudate, MPO, ADA and NOx concentrations (p<0.05). CE, EtOH-F and isolated compounds significantly reduced IL-17A, IL-6, TNF-a and IFN-y levels (p<0.05). CE, EtOH-F, MeONOB and BP significantly reduced MCP-1 levels (p<0.01). CE, EtOH-F and BP increased IL-10 levels (p<0.05). The isolated compounds reduced p-p65 NF-kB and p-p38 MAPK (p<0.01). In relation to the systematic review, most of the studies used in vitro assays. The studies focused mainly in cytokines, oedema, oxidative stress, inflammatory cells, NOx, NF-kB, MAPK, MPO, and COX-2. A. conyzoides L. has important anti-inflammatory activity and its mechanism of action seems to be associated with the inhibition of phosphorylation of p65 NF-kB and p-p38 MAPK. The isolated compounds MeONOB, BP and EP and coumarins may be considered important candidates for the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs

Estudo do tacrolimus sobre a resposta inflamatória induzida pela carragenina no modelo da bolsa de ar, em camundongos

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Farmácia.Introdução: Tacrolimus é um imunossupressor da classe dos macrolídeos utilizado na clínica para evitar a regeição em transplantes de órgãos e no tratamento da dermatite atópica. Objetivo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi elucidar a atividade antiinflamatória do tacrolimus na inflamação induzida pela carragenina, no modelo da bolsa de ar, em camundongos. Metodologia: Camundongos albinos Swiss receberam injeção de 1,5 ml de ar no dorso, durante três dias alternados, para formação da bolsa de ar. No sexto dia, os animais receberam carragenina (Cg, 1%, s.c.) e 24 h após foram sacrificados e a bolsa foi aberta e lavada com 1 ml de salina estéril. Os parâmetros inflamatórios observados foram: acúmulo de leucócitos, exsudação, atividade da mieloperoxidase (MPO) e da adenosina-deaminase (ADA), concentração de nitrato/nitrito (NOx) e níveis de fator de necrose tumoral alfa (TNF- ), interleucina-1 beta (IL-1 ) e quimiocina para neutrófilo (KC) foram avaliados 24 h depois. Para avaliar a exsudação, 1 h antes da Cg foi administrado 0,2 ml de azul de Evans (25 mg/kg, i.v.). Para determinação da curva dose e tempo resposta, inicialmente diferentes grupos de animais receberam diferentes doses de tacrolimus (1 a 10 mg/kg, v.o.) 0,5 h antes da injeção de carragenina e a migração celular e a exsudação foram avaliadas 24 h após. Em outros experimentos, diferentes grupos receberam uma única dose de tacrolimus (2 mg/kg, v.o.) em diferentes períodos de tempo (0,5 - 4 h) e os parâmetros inflamatórios foram avaliados 24 h após. De acordo com este protocolo, tacrolimus (2 mg/kg, v.o.) administrado 0,5 h antes da Cg, foi utilizado para analisar o seu efeito sobre a atividade de MPO e ADA e níveis de NOx, TNF- , IL-1 e KC. A indometacina (5 mg/kg, i.p.) e a dexametasona (0,5 mg/kg, i.p.) foram utilizadas como fármacos de referência. Os resultados foram expressos como média ± erro padrão da média. As diferenças estatísticas foram determinadas pela análise de variância (ANOVA), seguido de teste de Dunnett ou teste t de Student. Valores de P < 0,05 foram considerados significantes. Resultados: O tacrolimus (Tac: 2 mg/kg, v.o.) inibiu o acúmulo de leucócitos e de neutrófilos e reduziu a exsudação, os níveis de TNF- , IL-1, KC e óxido nítrico, além da atividade da MPO e da ADA (P < 0,05). Conclusão: Estes resultados demonstram que o tacrolimus apresenta importante atividade antiinflamatória, similar a da indometacina e da dexametasona. A inibição de citocinas pró-inflamatórias (TNF- , IL-1, KC), enzimas (MPO e ADA) e liberação de mediadores inflamatórios (NOx) parecem fazer parte da atividade antiinflamatória do tacrolimus

Infraestrutura de chaves públicas otimizadora

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Computação, Florianópolis, 2010Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor e implementar um novo conceito de certificado: o Certificado Otimizado, base da Infraestrutura de Chaves Publicas Otimizadora. Trata-se de adaptaçoes ao padrao X.509 para reduzir o esforço computacional necessario ao uso de documentos eletronicos assinados sem a perda da compatibilidade com as aplicaçoes existentes. Tal reduçao incide na verificação de assinaturas digitais, pois o Certificado Otimizado: (1) dispensa verificaçao de situaçao de revogaçao; (2) substitui carimbos do tempo sobre uma assinatura digital; (3) ´e emitido por uma Autoridade Certificadora cuja situaçao de revogaçao ´e aferida atraves do m´etodo Novomodo; e (4) possui um caminho de certificaçao curto. Esta proposta tamb´em explora a substituição de Certificados Otimizados quando da obsolescencia dos algoritmos criptograficos, tornando possivel a manutencão da autenticidade de assinaturas digitais sem o aumento contínuo dos recursos computacionais utilizados. Desta forma, beneficia diretamente verificadores de assinaturas digitais e entidades arquivisticas, as quais enfrentam o desafio de armazenar e manter validas assinaturas digitais sobre documentos eletronicos sem demandar quantidades impraticaveis de recursos computacionais. A soluçao proposta é comparada com o certificado X.509 convencional atrav´es da simulaçao de um cenario de documentos eletronicos assinados na ICP-Brasil. Os resultados da simulaçao demonstram que o Certificado Otimizado proporciona uma economia superior a 80% de recursos computacionais ao longo dos anos. Ainda, observa-se, atrav´es de testes realizados sobre a implementaçao do algoritmo Certificate Path Processing, presente na M´aquina Virtual Java, que o Certificado Otimizado ´e aderente ao padrao X.509 e, portanto, compatível com a maioria das aplicaçoes de certificaçao digital existentes. Sem duvida, tais características tornam o Certificado Otimizado uma atraente soluçao para reduzir os recursos computacionais necessarios no uso de documentos eletronicos assinados.This work deals with the proposal and the implementation of a new digital certificate concept: an Optimized Certificate, on which Optimizer Public Key Infrastructure is based. This concept implies some changes in the X.509 standard as a means to cut down on the computational effort required to use digital signatures on electronic documents, while keeping compatibility with existing applications. This reduction can be noted when verifying digital signatures because an Optimized Certificate: (1) dismisses the need to verify the revocation status; (2) replaces timestamps for a signature; (3) is issued by a Certification Authority whose revocation status is checked using Novomodo; and (4) presents a short certification path. Also, this proposal takes advantage of replacing an Optimized Certificate before cryptographic algorithms become weak, which makes it possible to maintain authentic digital signatures without requiring an ever-growing amount of computational resources. Therefore, Optimized Certificates benefit the verifiers of digital signatures and archiving entities, which have to overcome the challenge of storing and maintaining valid digital signature on electronic documents within computational resource constraints. The proposal is compared with the conventional X.509 certificate, considering the simulation of a scenario of signed electronic documents in ICP-Brasil. The result of this comparison reveals that an Optimized Certificate can lead to the reduction of computational resources along years at rates above 80%. Moreover, successful tests on the implementation of Certificate Path Processing available in Java Virtual Machine indicate that an Optimized Certificate adheres to X.509 and therefore, with regard to digital signatures, it is compatible with most existing applications. Indeed, such characteristics make Optimized Certificates an attractive solution to reduce the computational resources required for using signed electronic documents

Trustworthy and Efficient Protection Schemes for Digital Archiving

The amount of information produced in the last decades has grown notably. Much of this information only exists in the form of electronic documents and it has often to be stored for long periods. Therefore, digital archives are increasingly needed. However, for the documents to remain trustworthy while they are archived, they need to be protected by the archivists. Important protection goals that must be guaranteed are integrity, authenticity, non-repudiation, and proof of existence. To address these goals, several protection schemes for digital archives have been designed. These schemes are usually based on cryptographic primitives, namely digital signatures and hash functions. However, since documents can be archived for decades or even indefinitely, the used cryptographic primitives can become insecure during the archival time. This is a serious issue because it can be exploited by attackers to compromise the protection goals of the archived documents. Therefore, a requirement for long-term protection schemes is to address the aging of cryptography, i.e. replacing the used primitives properly before they become insecure. In this work we analyze and improve long-term protection schemes for digital archives. More precisely, we aim at answering three questions. (1) How do long-term protection schemes compare with respect to trustworthiness? (2) How do they differ in performance? (3) Can new schemes be designed, which generate more efficient and trustworthy evidence needed to establish the protection goals? Although several protection schemes can be found in the literature, many of them fail in addressing the aging of cryptography. Therefore, our first step is to identify which existing schemes provide long-term protection with respect to integrity, authenticity, non-repudiation, and proof of existence. Afterwards, to answer question (1) we analyze the trustworthiness of the long-term protection schemes using two approaches. In the first approach, we initially identify the required trust assumptions. Then, based on these assumptions, we compare the protection schemes. In the second approach, we turn to quantifying the trustworthiness of the evidence generated by time-stamping and notarial schemes. To this end, we use a belief trust model and design a reputation system. This leads to two further, more detailed answers to question (1). First, that trustworthiness depends on the reputation of the involved parties rather than the protection schemes themselves. Second, the trustworthiness of evidence tends to degrade in the long term. Therefore, we propose to use the reputation system to create incentives for the involved parties to build good reputation. This raises the trustworthiness of generated evidence, hence addressing question (3). Next, we address question (2) by analyzing how schemes differ in performance using an analytical evaluation and experiments. More precisely, we measure the times needed to create and verify evidence, the space required to store evidence, and the communication necessary to generate evidence. Moreover, this analysis shows that while verifying evidence most of the time is spent on checking certificate chains. The findings in the performance analysis provide us with directions for addressing question (3). We propose three new solutions that provide more efficient evidence. The first solution is a new notarial scheme that generates smaller evidence and that communicates less data than the existing notarial scheme. Novelties in our scheme include balancing the numbers of signatures that users and notaries verify, and using notaries as time-stamp authorities to provide proof of existence. The second solution is based on the time-stamping scheme Content Integrity Service (CIS) and allows for faster evidence verification. To the best of our knowledge, CIS is the only scheme designed for an archive where documents are submitted and time-stamped sequentially but share the same sequence of time-stamps. However, in this case the validities of several time-stamps in this sequence may overlap. Consequently, many of these time-stamps need not be checked when verifying the time-stamp sequence for one document. We address this issue in our new scheme by using a data structure called skip list. The result is a time-stamp sequence where users can skip the time-stamps that are not necessary to guarantee the protection goals of one document. Using an analytical evaluation and experiments, we show that our scheme is notably faster than CIS. The third solution is intended to reduce time spent on checking certificate chains when verifying evidence generated by time-stamping schemes. More precisely, we improve an existing public key infrastructure-based solution where the root certification authority generates smaller verification information for time-stamps. This verification information can be used to replace the certificate chains needed to verify time-stamps. However, this solution requires extra work from time-stamp authorities and the root certification authority, especially when the number of time-stamps grows significantly. In our solution, this issue is addressed such that this extra work is independent of the number of time-stamps. Using an analytical evaluation we demonstrate the advantage of our solution. Finally, we provide our conclusions and future work. In this thesis we design new solutions that allow for more efficient and trustworthy evidence of protection for archived documents. As future work, we suggest conducting more research in the direction of developing methods that address the decay of the trustworthiness of evidence over time

The rise of carbapenem resistance in Europe : just the tip of the iceberg?

The European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) collects data on carbapenem resistance from invasive bacterial infections. Increasing percentages of carbapenem resistance in K. pneumoniae isolates were reported from progressively more countries in Europe between 2005 and 2010. A trend analysis showed increasing trends for Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and Italy (p < 0.01). EARS-Net collects data on invasive bacterial isolates, which likely correspond to a fraction of the total number of infections. Increasing reports of community cases suggest that dissemination of carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae has penetrated into the community. Good surveillance and infection control measures are urgently needed to contain this spread.peer-reviewe

Subcutaneous bronchogenic cyst in a child: case report

Bronchogenic cysts are congenital anomalies originating from the primitive tracheobronchial tree in the fetal period. Although the middle mediastinum is the site most commonly affected (second only to the lungs), there have been reports of bronchogenic cysts at unusual sites, such as the retroperitoneum. We report the case of a 4-year-old boy with a cystic mass in the left scapular area since birth. The cyst grew progressively and was accompanied by recurrent episodes of local infection requiring drainage. It was then surgically removed.The histological findings were decisive for the diagnosis: a subcutaneous cyst lined by ciliated columnar epithelium and surrounded by a fibrous wall with smooth muscle tissue, cartilage, and bronchial glands. We also found chronic inflammatory infiltrate, which is consistent with previous episodes of infection. Bronchogenic cysts should be included in the differential diagnosis of cystic tumors of the chest wall and neck, particularly in children. Surgery is the treatment of choice because of the risk of infection, as in this case, and ofmalignant degeneration.nul

Prenatal education for congenital toxoplasmosis

Congenital toxoplasmosis is considered a rare but potentially severe infection. Prenatal education about congenital toxoplasmosis could be the most efficient and least harmful intervention, yet its effectiveness is uncertain

Why do paediatricians prescribe antibiotics? Results of an Italian regional project

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To investigate determinants of antibiotic prescription in paediatric care, as a first step of a multilevel intervention to improve prescribing for common respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in a northern Italian region with high antibiotic prescription rate.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A two-step survey was performed: in phase I, knowledge, and attitudes were explored involving all family and hospital paediatricians of Emilia-Romagna and a sample of parents. In phase II, patient care practices were explored in a stratified random sample of visits, both in hospitals and family physician's clinics; parent expectations were investigated in a sub-sample of these visits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of overall 4352 visits for suspected RTIs, in 38% of children an antibiotic was prescribed. Diagnostic uncertainty was perceived by paediatricians as the most frequent cause of inappropriate prescription (56% of 633 interviewed paediatricians); but, rapid antigen detecting tests was used in case of pharyngitis/pharyngotonsillitis by 36% and 21% of family and hospital paediatricians only. More than 50% of paediatricians affirmed to not adopt a "wait and see strategy" in acute otitis. The perceived parental expectation of antibiotics was not indicated by paediatricians as a crucial determinant of prescription, but this perception was the second factor most strongly associated to prescription (OR = 12.8; 95% CI 10.4 - 15.8), the first being the presence of othorrea. Regarding parents, the most important identified factors, potentially associated to overprescribing, were the lack of knowledge of RTIs and antibiotics (41% of 1029 parents indicated bacteria as a possible cause of common cold), and the propensity to seek medical care for trivial infections (48% of 4352 children accessing ambulatory practice presented only symptoms of common cold).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A wide gap between perceived and real determinants of antibiotic prescription exists. This can promote antibiotic overuse. Inadequate parental knowledge can also induce inappropriate prescription. The value of this study is that it simultaneously explored determinants of antimicrobial prescribing in an entire region involving both professionals and parents.</p