Design of hybrid gels based on gellan-cholesterol derivative and P90G liposomes for drug depot applications

Gels are extensively studied in the drug delivery field because of their potential benefits in therapeutics. Depot gel systems fall in this area, and the interest in their development has been focused on long-lasting, biocompatible, and resorbable delivery devices. The present work describes a new class of hybrid gels that stem from the interaction between liposomes based on P90G phospholipid and the cholesterol derivative of the polysaccharide gellan. The mechanical properties of these gels and the delivery profiles of the anti-inflammatory model drug diclofenac embedded in such systems confirmed the suitability of these hybrid gels as a good candidate for drug depot applications

Caminho dos Ossos

The fragmented writing brings in its own transtemporality the promiscuous performativity between the references of literature, action in the visual arts, anthropology, contemporary philosophy and social sciences, which now transits through a place traditionally recognized as academic, now recognized as becoming in movement in poetic essays, bringing us to the fracture of different languages and concepts, tales and the construction of writing as another aesthetic object that is not attached to the mere description of the actions evoked. The third bank of the river, concept-image from the story of João Guimarães Rosa appears as a fracture of time, third line, production of deviation in the social body. Édouard Glissant is made present from concepts such as poetics of relations, trace / residue, creolization and trembling thought.La escritura, fragmentada, trae en la propia trastemporalidad la performatividad promiscua entre las referencias de la literatura, acción en artes visuales, antropología, filosofía contemporánea y de las ciencias sociales, que ora transita por un lugar tradicionalmente reconocido como académico, ya se reconoce como devenir en movimiento en los ensayos poéticos, trayéndonos a la fractura de los diferentes lenguajes y de los conceptos, de los cuentos y de la construcción de la escritura como otro objeto estético que no se refiere a la mera descripción de las acciones evocadas. La tercera margen del río, imagen-concepto a partir del cuento de João Guimarães Rosa surge como fractura del tiempo, rasca tercera, producción de desvío en el cuerpo social. Édouard Glissant se hace presente a partir de conceptos como poética de las relaciones, rastro / residuo, criolización y pensamiento del temblor.A escrita, fragmentada, traz na própria transtemporalidade a performatividade promíscua entre as referências da literatura, ação em artes visuais, antropologia, filosofia contemporânea e das ciências sociais, que ora transita por um lugar tradicionalmente reconhecido como acadêmico, ora se reconhece como devir em movimento nos ensaios poéticos, trazendo-nos para a fratura das diferentes linguagens e dos conceitos, dos contos e da construção da escrita como outro objeto estético que não se prende à mera descrição das ações evocadas.  A terceira margem do rio, imagem-conceito a partir do conto de João Guimarães Rosa surge como fratura do tempo, risca terceira, produção de desvio no corpo social. Édouard Glissant se faz presente a partir de conceitos como poética das relações, rastro/resíduo, crioulização e pensamento do tremor.  &nbsp

inversão do açúcar (ou como fazer soro para curar uma ferida histórica)

(...) as páginas que aqui seguem são um fragmento da dissertação de mestrado "ações, políticas estéticas, heterotopias nômades : lugares possíveis" oriantada pela profa. Dra. Maria Beatriz de Medeiros, no qual apresenta-se considerações sobre a ação "inversão do açúcar (ou como fazer soro para curar uma ferida histórica)" realizada ao longo de aproximadamente 3 horas em Trancoso, Bahia no decorrer da Mostra Osso Latino Americana de Performances Urbanas- II MOLA.   Disponível em: www.mariaeugeniamatricardi.co

A survey among members of the Association of German Allergists (AeDA)

Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to both inpatient and outpatient care. In order to maintain good care under necessary contact restrictions, especially in the outpatient sector, the use of telemedical applications was demanded and promoted. The exploratory survey among members of the Association of German Allergists (AeDA) was intended to show how these were received among allergists in private practice. Methods: The survey was restricted to actively practising members of the AeDA who had previously given their consent to receive such surveys (n = 437). They were invited by email to participate in a survey on the topic of "Telemedicine in everyday clinical practice in allergology". The survey included quantitative and qualitative questions on the use of telemedicine services before and during the pandemic and was conducted anonymously on the SoSci Survey platform. Participation was possible in the period from June to August 2020. Results: In all, 76 specialists with additional qualification in allergology took part in the survey. Of these, 71 completed the full questionnaire. Before the start of the pandemic-related contact restrictions, 46.5% (33/71) stated that they had used telemedicine in their clinical practice. This number increased to 73.2% (52/71) after 31 January 2020. The largest increase (4.3% vs. 15.6%) was seen in the area of video consultations. Furthermore, 43/76 participants can imagine integrating telemedicine services into their daily clinical routine in the future. Conclusion: The use of telemedical services, especially video consultations, increased significantly during the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic in Germany. The majority of respondents perceive the implementation as positive and can imagine continuing to use telemedical methods after the end of the pandemic

The first, holistic immunological model of COVID‐19: Implications for prevention, diagnosis, and public health measures

The natural history of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is extremely variable, ranging from asymptomatic or mild infection, mainly in children, to multi-organ failure, eventually fatal, mainly in the eldest. We propose here the first model explaining how the outcome of first, crucial 10-15 days after infection, depends on the balance between the cumulative dose of viral exposure and the efficacy of the local innate immune response (natural IgA and IgM antibodies, mannose-binding lectin). If SARS-CoV-2 runs the blockade of this innate immunity and spreads from the upper airways to the alveoli in the early phases of the infections, it can replicate with no local resistance, causing pneumonia and releasing high amounts of antigens. The delayed and strong adaptive immune response (high-affinity IgM and IgG antibodies) that follows, causes severe inflammation and triggers mediator cascades (complement, coagulation, and cytokine storm), leading to complications often requiring intensive therapy and being, in some patients, fatal. Low-moderate physical activity can still be recommended. However, extreme physical activity and oral breathing with hyperventilation during the incubation days and early stages of COVID-19 facilitates re-inhalation and early direct penetration of high numbers of own virus particles in the lower airways and the alveoli, without impacting on the airway's mucosae covered by neutralizing antibodies ("viral auto-inhalation" phenomenon). This allows the virus to bypass the efficient immune barrier of the upper airway mucosa in already infected, young, and otherwise healthy athletes. In conclusion, whether the virus or the adaptive immune response reaches the lungs first is a crucial factor deciding the fate of the patient. This "quantitative and time-/sequence-dependent" model has several implications for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of COVID-19 at all ages

The impact of a digital wheeze detector on parental disease management of pre-school children suffering from wheezing—a pilot study

Background: Viral airway infections are a major reason for doctor's visits at pre-school age, especially when associated with wheezing. While proper treatment requires adequate recognition of airway obstruction, caretakers are often struggling with this judgment, consequently leading to insufficient or late treatment and an unnecessary discomfort of the patient. Digital technologies may serve to support parental decision taking. The aim of the present pilot study is to acquire data on the feasibility of recruitment and observation procedures for a randomized controlled trial on the impact of a digital wheeze detector in a home management setting of pre-school wheezing. Methods: This single-armed pilot study enrolled patients with a doctor's diagnosis of wheezing aged 9 to 72 months. Participants were asked to use a digital wheeze detector (WheezeScan, Omron Healthcare, Japan) 2x/day for 30 days and record the child's respiratory symptoms, detection of wheezing, and medication intake via an electronic diary (eDiary) app. Demographic and clinical data were collected at the recruitment visit. The asthma control test and the Parent Asthma Management Self-Efficacy Scale (PAMSES) were assessed both, at recruitment and follow-up. Results: Twenty families were recruited and completed the monitoring. All but one completed the follow-up after 30 days. The recruitment procedures were feasible, and adherence to daily monitoring reached an average of 81%. The use of the wheeze detector was rated as uncomplicated. Parents detected wheezing without digital support in only 22/708 (3.1%) of the recorded events. By contrast, the wheeze detector indicated an airway obstruction in 140/708 (19.8%) of the recordings. Conclusion: In parallel to feasible recruitment procedures, we observed good usability of the wheeze detection device and high adherence to eDiary recording. The positive outcomes show that the WheezeScan may empower parents by increasing their capacity for wheeze detection. This deserves to be investigated in a larger randomized controlled trial

Cortical Evoked Potentials in Children of Diabetic Mothers

Type 1 diabetic mothers' infants show a delay of visual evoked potential (VEP) significantly related to some parameters of poor metabolic control during pregnancy. In the present paper we analyzed the characteristics of VEPs and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) recorded in 16 three-year-old type 1 diabetic mothers' children (DMC). Compared with controls (23 nondiabetic mothers' healthy matched children), DMC showed significantly delayed mean latency of VEP (P2) and SEP (P22). In 3 cases (19%), we found pathological responses (+3 SD from the mean value of controls) of VEPs and SEPs. At the age of 3 years, the offspring of type 1 diabetic mothers showed delay of cortical evoked responses in both visual and somatosensory systems

The Potential of Clinical Decision Support Systems for Prevention, Diagnosis, and Monitoring of Allergic Diseases

Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) aid health care professionals (HCP) in evaluating large sets of information and taking informed decisions during their clinical routine. CDSS are becoming particularly important in the perspective of precision medicine, when HCP need to consider growing amounts of data to create precise patient profiles for personalized diagnosis, treatment and outcome monitoring. In allergy care, several CDSS are being developed and investigated, mainly for respiratory allergic diseases. Although the proposed solutions address different stakeholders, the majority aims at facilitating evidence-based and shared decision-making, incorporating guidelines, and real-time clinical data. We offer here an overview on existing tools, new developments and novel concepts and discuss the potential of digital CDSS in improving prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of allergic diseases

Digital allergology: Towards a clinical decision support system for allergen immunotherapy

Mobile health is the "medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices." For example, mobile apps (such as MASK-Air, Allergy.Monitor, Pollen, and others) have proven useful in the management of patients with allergic rhinitis. These apps can be used in the context of broader clinical decision support systems (CDSS) for enhancing allergy-related decisions and actions with pertinent, organized clinical knowledge and patient information to improve allergy care. A CDSS targeted to control rhinitis with drugs and other interventions guiding the patient in his/her self- and doctor-driven management is currently being produced and investigated by the MACVIA network. Another one, called @IT-2020, is targeted to support etiologic diagnostics and allergen immunotherapy (AIT) prescriptions for patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Intensive investigation is necessary to better define the advantages and limitations of mobile-health technology in allergology and establish guidelines for their proper use in daily practice in the context of a rapidly evolving European regulatory environment

Ações, performances e o fracasso colonial fraturado pelo tempo na América Latina

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Artes, Departamento de Artes Visuais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Artes, 2021.Esta pesquisa versa sobre ações, performances autorais, em diálogo com artistas da América Latina. A produção de políticas estéticas por via do corpo em ação pode tecer agentes suleadores, questionar violências epistemológicas, fraturar a linearidade temporal gestando outros tempos em convívio transtemporal; corpos em encruzilhadas, multiplicidade de imaginários, abordadas como recorte nesta pesquisa a partir de referenciais de pensamentos latino-americanos, negros, de povos originários, europeus e epistemologias do sul como poética da relação. A transtemporalidade, a partir do tempo espiralar , diferente de uma teoria que estabelece parâmetros conceituais pragmáticos aos moldes de algumas matrizes do pensamento ocidental, reatualiza o tempo pelo corpo, na performatividade do gesto, na agência do movimento entre vida e morte, relação do sendo com a ancestralidade, atravessamentos de afetos singulares, que, paradoxalmente, atuam para além do campo da individualidade. O fracasso como noção frágil e ambígua, fratura o projeto colonial de modernidade, inacabado, porém movente, caminhamos sobre as suas ruínas, pois o fracasso também fracassa. O fracasso do fracasso atua como manutenção do colonialismo interno, convive em atrito com a indomesticação, disputando territórios subjetivos micro e macropolíticos. Essa indomesticação guarda nos poros urgências de corpos que habitam outros tempos, difratação de imaginários, desmontando a previsibilidade da linguagem, da subjetividade, da ficção compartilhada que tomamos por realidade. Acesso sensível, vulnerável, formas de engrenar em lugares possíveis como re-existência.This research deals with actions, authorial performances, in dialogue with artists from Latin America. The production of aesthetic politics through the body in action can weave suliating agents, question epistemological violence, fracture temporal linearity, creating other times in trans-temporal coexistence; bodies at crossroads, multiplicity of imaginary, approached as part of this research based on references from Latin American, black, indigenous people, europeans and epistemologies of the south as poetics of the relationship. Trans-temporality, from the spiraling time, different from a theory that establishes pragmatic conceptual parameters along the lines of some matrices of Western thought, refreshes time through the body, in the performativity of the gesture, in the agency of the movement between life and death, relation of being with ancestry, crossings of singular affections, which, paradoxically, act beyond the field of individuality. The fail as a fragile and ambiguous notion, fractures the colonial project of modernity, unfinished, but moving, we walk on its ruins, because failure also fails. The fail of the failure acts as maintenance of internal colonialism, coexists with friction with indomestication, disputing subjective micro and macropolitical territories. This indomestication keeps in the pores the urgencies of bodies that inhabit other times, diffraction of the imaginary, decommission the predictability of language, subjectivity, the shared fiction that we take for reality. Sensitive access and vulnerable, ways to engage in possible places like re-existence