Buscando una institución para que viva el anciano: los motivos de los familiares

Con el fin de comprender las situaciones que motivan a las familias a asilar un miembro anciano de su familia se realizó un estudio de abordaje metodológica cualitativa, de la cual participaron seis familiares responsables por ancianos recluidos. La colecta de las informaciones ocurrió por medio de entrevistas abiertas. El análisis condujo a dos categorías denominadas: El aislamiento como forma de atender a las necesidades del anciano y Buscar el mejor lugar para que el anciano viva y mantenga el vínculo con la familia. Vivir el proceso de asilar un familiar anciano es un periodo de transición en que diferentes factores son considerados y contribuyen para esta decisión. Cuando hay esta deliberación, la familia busca la mejor residencia para el viejo en términos de estructura física, cuidados y convivencia social con sus congéneres y otras personas. Entienden que por medio de visitas podrán mantener vínculos familiares y afectivos.Com o objetivo de conhecer as situações que motivam famílias a asilar seu familiar idoso, desenvolvemos estudo de abordagem metodológica qualitativa, da qual participaram seis familiares responsáveis por idosos asilados. A coleta das informações ocorreu por meio de entrevista aberta. A análise confluiu para duas categorias denominadas: o asilamento como forma de atender às necessidades do idoso e a busca pelo melhor local para o idoso morar e manter o vínculo com a família. Viver o processo de asilamento de um familiar idoso constitui-se num período de transição em que diferentes fatores são levados em consideração e contribuem na decisão de asilar o velho. Quando há esta deliberação, a família vai à busca do melhor local para o idoso morar em termos de estrutura física, cuidados e convívio social com iguais e outras pessoas, pois entendem que por meio de visitas podem manter vínculos familiares e afetivos.This study, conceived in order to try to understand the situations that motivate families to place elderly relatives in nursing homes, used a methodological qualitative approach. Data collection was conducted through open interviews. The analysis of the answers resulted in two categories: the placement in a nursing home as a way to meet the elder person's needs; and the search for the best place for the elder to live and keep the bond with the family. Living through the process of placing an elder relative in a nursing home constituted a transition period in which different factors were taken into account and contributed for the decision. When this decision is taken, the family looks for the best place in terms of physical structure, care and social living, with equals and with other people, because it is believed that through visits family and affective bonds can be kept

Reactive Oxygen Species Production and Mitochondrial Dysfunction Contribute to Quercetin Induced Death in Leishmania amazonensis

BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, affects more than 12 million people worldwide. Quercetin has generated considerable interest as a pharmaceutical compound with a wide range of therapeutic activities. One such activity is exhibited against the bloodstream parasite Trypanosoma brucei and amastigotes of Leishmania donovani. However, the mechanism of protozoan action of quercetin has not been studied. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, we report here the mechanism for the antileishmanial activity of quercetin against Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes. Quercetin inhibited L. amazonensis promastigote growth in a dose- and time- dependent manner beginning at 48 hours of treatment and with maximum growth inhibition observed at 96 hours. The IC(50) for quercetin at 48 hours was 31.4 µM. Quercetin increased ROS generation in a dose-dependent manner after 48 hours of treatment. The antioxidant GSH and NAC each significantly reduced quercetin-induced cell death. In addition, quercetin caused mitochondrial dysfunction due to collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The effects of several drugs that interfere directly with mitochondrial physiology in parasites such as Leishmania have been described. The unique mitochondrial features of Leishmania make this organelle an ideal drug target while minimizing toxicity. Quercetin has been described as a pro-oxidant, generating ROS which are responsible for cell death in some cancer cells. Mitochondrial membrane potential loss can be brought about by ROS added directly in vitro or induced by chemical agents. Taken together, our results demonstrate that quercetin eventually exerts its antileishmanial effect on L. amazonensis promastigotes due to the generation of ROS and disrupted parasite mitochondrial function

Indoor air microbiological evaluation of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers

In this study it was compared the MAS-100 and the Andersen air samplers´ performances and a similar trend in both instruments was observed. It was also evaluated the microbial contamination levels in 3060 samples of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers, in the period of 1998 to 2002, in Rio de Janeiro city. Considering each environment, 94.3 to 99.4% of the samples were the allowed limit in Brazil (750 CFU/m3). The industries´ results showed more important similarity among fungi and total heterotrophs distributions, with the majority of the results between zero and 100 CFU/m3. The offices´ results showed dispersion around 300 CFU/m3. The hospitals' results presented the same trend, with an average of 200 CFU/m3. Shopping centers' environments showed an average of 300 CFU/m3 for fungi, but presented a larger dispersion pattern for the total heterotrophs, with the highest average (1000 CFU/m3). It was also investigated the correlation of the sampling period with the number of airborne microorganisms and with the environmental parameters (temperature and air humidity) through the principal components analysis. All indoor air samples distributions were very similar. The temperature and air humidity had no significant influence on the samples dispersion patterns