Music benefits on postoperative distress and pain in pediatric day care surgery

Postoperative effect of music listening has not been established in pediatric age. Response on postoperative distress and pain in pediatric day care surgery has been evaluated. Forty-two children were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to the music-group (music intervention during awakening period) or the non-music group (standard postoperative care). Slow and fast classical music and pauses were recorded and played via ambient speakers. Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, glucose and cortisol levels, faces pain scale and Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (FLACC) Pain Scale were considered as indicators of response to stress and pain experience. Music during awakening induced lower increase of systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. The non-music group showed progressive increasing values of glycemia; in music-group the curve of glycemia presented a plateau pattern (P<0.001). Positive impact on reactions to pain was noted using the FLACC scale. Music improves cardiovascular parameters, stress-induced hyperglycemia. Amelioration on pain perception is more evident in older children. Positive effects seems to be achieved by the alternation of fast, slow rhythms and pauses even in pediatric age

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Sinus infection in intensive care patients.

Sinusitis is a complication known to accompany nasotracheal intubation, but its frequency has not been well established. During a two-year-period, 1,126 patients in an intensive care unit have been studied. Twenty-seven of them (2%) developed a bacterial sinusitis. The diagnosis is established on the basis of an unexplained clinical sepsis, imaging evidence of fluid in the maxillary sinus, and antral puncture. Microbiological samples showed Gram-negative micro-organisms, in particular Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and an elevated percentage of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The likely predisposing factors (nasogastric and/or nasotracheal tubes) are discussed. Aetiology, diagnosis and management of the disease are discussed in detail. The importance of prompt removal of nasal instrumentation and of early sinus drainage, in addition to broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, is emphasized

CHEMICAL INVESTIGATION AND IN VITRO CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF RANDIA DUMETORUM LAMK. BARK

β-Sitosterol, lupeol and daucosterol have been isolated from ethanolic extract of Randia dumetorum bark. β-Sitosterol, Lupeol and Daucosterol have been isolated for the first time from the Randia dumetorum. β Sitosterol and Daucosterol were identified by complete interpretation of 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra using 2D NMR (HSQC, HMBC, DQF-COSY) experiments and Lupeol by direct comparison with authentic sample. The ethanolic extract is subjected to cytotoxic activity against A549 cell (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells), BE (2) C (Neuroblastonoma Cell Line), Hela, MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer cell line), SK MEL-2 (Human Skin Melanoma Cell) and U87MG cell (Human Neuronale Gliblostoma astrozytom Cell Line) which showed most effective cytotoxic activity at 400 μg/mL concentration on MDA-MB-231 (Breast Cancer Cell Line)