Recentralization/decentralization: dynamics of the federative regime in Brazil 90's

This article discusses the evolution of the federative practice and institutions in Brazil in the past few years, emphasizing the simultaneity of the decentralization processes. The decentralizing trajectory which culminates in the 1988 Constitution, the fiscal crises of the Brazilian State and the effects of Plano Real are discussed based in a set of comparative references, trying to incorporate very recent works by Alfred Stepan.Este artigo discute a evolução das práticas e instituições federativas no Brasil dos anos recentes, enfatizando a simultaneidade de processos de recentralização e descentralização. A trajetória descentralizadora que culmina com a Constituição de 1988, a crise fiscal do estado brasileiro e os efeitos do Plano Real são discutidos a partir de um quadro de referências de tipo comparativo, que busca incorporar escritos muito recentes de Alfred Stepan

O Leviathan declinante: a crise brasileira dos anos 80

This article evalvates the Brazilian crisis in the Eighties, analysing the feedback between economic crisis and political change. Its approach emphatizes the importance of the difference between the concepts of State and political regime. These two concepts are used in a systematic way to explain the nature of the crisis and the difficulties of the transition tomards democracy. The rupture of the alliances that supported the old developmental State of the thirties in undescored, as well as the extent of the difficulties that delay the emergence of a new hegemonic pact.Este artigo faz um balanço da crise brasileira dos anos 80. Busca analisar a interação entre crise econômica e transformação política, enfatizando a importância da distinção conceituai entre Estado e regime político. Usa sistematicamente tais conceitos para explicar a natureza da crise e as dificuldades da transição para a democracia. E salientada a ruptura das alianças que sustentaram o velho Estado desenvolvimentista surgido nos anos 30 e a extensão das dificuldades que retardaram a emergência de um novo pacto hegemônico

Pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a spectrum of disease ranging from hepatocellular steatosis through steatohepatitis to fibrosis and irreversible cirrhosis. The prevalence of NAFLD has risen rapidly in parallel with the dramatic rise in obesity and diabetes, and is rapidly becoming the most common cause of liver disease in Western countries. Indeed, NAFLD is now recognized to be the aetiology in many cases previously labelled as cryptogenic cirrhosis

Case report of successful peginterferon, ribavirin, and daclatasvir therapy for recurrent cholestatic hepatitis C after liver retransplantation

A recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after liver transplantation (LT) can lead to accelerated allograft injury and fibrosis. The aim of this article is to report the first ever use of daclatasvir (DCV; also known as BMS‐790052), a potent orally administered nonstructural 5A replication complex inhibitor, in combination with peginterferon α (PEG‐IFNα) and ribavirin in an LT recipient. A 49‐year‐old female developed a severe recurrent HCV genotype 1b infection 4 months after transplantation with severe cholestasis on biopsy, an HCV RNA level of 10,000,000 IU/mL, an alkaline phosphatase level of 1525 IU/mL, and a total bilirubin level of 8.4 mg/dL. Despite partial virological suppression with PEG‐IFNα and ribavirin, progressive allograft failure ensued and culminated in retransplantation at 9 months. Three months after the second transplant, DCV (20 mg/day), PEG‐IFNα2a (180 μg/week), and ribavirin (800 mg/day) were prescribed for early recurrent cholestatic HCV. Serum HCV RNA became undetectable at week 3 of treatment and remained undetectable during 24 weeks of triple therapy and during the posttreatment follow‐up. DCV was well tolerated, and the trough drug levels were within the targeted range throughout the treatment. The cyclosporine trough levels were also stable during and after therapy. In conclusion, the lack of anticipated drug‐drug interactions between DCV and calcineurin inhibitors and the potent antiviral efficacy of DCV make this agent (in combination with PEG‐IFN and ribavirin) an attractive antiviral regimen worthy of further study in LT recipients with recurrent HCV. Liver Transpl, 2012. © 2012 AASLD.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93517/1/23482_ftp.pd

Breath Biopsy Assessment of Liver Disease Using an Exogenous Volatile Organic Compound-Toward Improved Detection of Liver Impairment.

INTRODUCTION: Liver cirrhosis and its complication - hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - have been associated with increased exhaled limonene. It is currently unclear whether this increase is more strongly associated with the presence of HCC or with the severity of liver dysfunction. METHODS: We compared the exhaled breath of 40 controls, 32 cirrhotic patients, and 12 cirrhotic patients with HCC using the Breath Biopsy platform. Breath samples were analyzed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Limonene levels were compared between the groups and correlated to bilirubin, albumin, prothrombin time international normalized ratio, and alanine aminotransferase. RESULTS: Breath limonene concentration was significantly elevated in subjects with cirrhosis-induced HCC (M: 82.1 ng/L, interquartile range [IQR]: 16.33-199.32 ng/L) and cirrhosis (M: 32.6 ng/L, IQR: 6.55-123.07 ng/L) compared with controls (M: 6.2 ng/L, IQR: 2.62-9.57 ng/L) (P value = 0.0005 and 0.0001, respectively) with no significant difference between 2 diseased groups (P value = 0.37). Levels of exhaled limonene correlated with serum bilirubin (R = 0.25, P value = 0.0016, r = 0.51), albumin (R = 0.58, P value = 5.3e-8, r = -0.76), and international normalized ratio (R = 0.29, P value = 0.0003, r = 0.51), but not with alanine aminotransferase (R = 0.01, P value = 0.36, r = 0.19). DISCUSSION: Exhaled limonene levels are primarily affected by the presence of cirrhosis through reduced liver functional capacity, as indicated by limonene correlation with blood metrics of impaired hepatic clearance and protein synthesis capacity, without further alterations observed in subjects with HCC. This suggests that exhaled limonene is a potential non-invasive marker of liver metabolic capacity (see Visual abstract, Supplementary Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/CTG/A388).Owlstone Medical Lt

Lean non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients from the global NASH registry

Background and aims: Although vast majority of patients with NAFLD are overweight and obese, NAFLD can be seen among lean individuals. The aim was to assess prevalence of lean NAFLD in different regions of the world. Method: The Global NASH Registry enrolled patients with an established diagnosis of NAFLD from real-world practices in 18 countries (Australia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, USA) in 6 out of 7 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) super-regions. Clinical and patient-reported outcomes (PRO) data (CLDQ-NASH, FACIT-F,WPAI) were collected. Lean NAFLD was defined as NAFLD in patients with BMI/m2, or 23 kg/m2 for patients of East Asian origin. Results: There were 6096 NAFLD patients included (as of November 10, 2021): 48% from High-Income super-region, 24% Middle East and North Africa (MENA), 12% Southeast Asia, 7% Latin America, 6% from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and 3% South Asia super-region. Of these, 7.3% were lean. The rates of lean NAFLD were the highest in Southeast Asia (12%) and South Asia (31%), the lowest in Eastern Europe and Central Asia ( Conclusion: Lean NAFLD patients seen in real-world practices across the world have different clinical and PRO profiles in comparison to NAFLD patients who are overweight or obese

Association between Serum Interleukin-6 Concentrations and Mortality in Older Adults: The Rancho Bernardo Study

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) may have a protective role in acute liver disease but a detrimental effect in chronic liver disease. It is unknown whether IL-6 is associated with risk of liver-related mortality in humans. Aims: To determine if IL-6 is associated with an increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and liverrelated mortality. Methods: A prospective cohort study included 1843 participants who attended a research visit in 1984–87. Multiple covariates were ascertained including serum IL-6. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to examine the association between serum IL-6 as a continuous (log transformed) variable with all-cause, CVD, cancer, and liver-related mortality. Patients with prevalent CVD, cancer and liver disease were excluded for cause-specific mortality. Results: The mean (6 standard deviation) age and body-mass-index (BMI) of participants was 68 (610.6) years and 25 (63.7) Kg/m 2, respectively. During the 25,802 person-years of follow-up, the cumulative all-cause, CVD, cancer, and liverrelated mortality were 53.1 % (N = 978), 25.5%, 11.3%, and 1.3%, respectively. The median (6IQR) length of follow-up was 15.3610.6 years. In multivariable analyses, adjusted for age, sex, alcohol, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, total cholesterol, HDL, and smoking, one-SD increment in log-transformed serum IL-6 was associated with increased risk of all-cause, CVD, cancer, and liver-related mortality, with hazard ratios of 1.48 (95 % CI, 1.33–1.64), 1.38 (95 % CI, 1.16–1.65), 1.35 (95 % CI, 1.02–1.79)

New perspectives for preventing hepatitis C virus liver graft infection

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: New perspectives for preventing hepatitis C virus liver graft infection journaltitle: The Lancet Infectious Diseases articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)00120-1 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved