Prevalência de tabagismo em indivíduos com transtornos mentais graves, São Paulo, Brasil

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence of cigarette smoking in individuals with severe mental illnesses in a large urban centre of a middle income country. METHODS: Cross-sectional study carried out in São Paulo. The sample (N=192) comprised individuals diagnosed with severe mental illnesses who had contact with public psychiatric care services from September to November 1997 and were aged between 18 and 65 years. Prevalence of daily tobacco smoking in the 12 months previous to the interview and characteristics associated were studied. RESULTS: Out of 192 subjects with severe mental illnesses interviewed, 115 (59.9%; 95% CI: 52.6%; 66.9%) reported smoking cigarettes on a daily basis. Male gender, marital status separated or widowed, irregular use of neuroleptic drugs and history of ten or more psychiatric admissions were independently associated with cigarette smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of cigarette smoking in the present sample was higher than that found in the general Brazilian population. Mental care services should implement non-smoking policies and mental health providers need to help patients with severe mental illness who want to quit smoking.OBJETIVO: Analisar a prevalência de tabagismo em amostra de indivíduos com transtornos mentais graves em um grande centro urbano de um país emergente. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado no município de São Paulo. A amostra (N=192) foi composta por indivíduos com diagnóstico de transtorno mental grave que tiveram contato com serviços psiquiátricos do setor público de setembro a novembro de 1997 e tinham idade entre 18 e 65 anos. O uso diário de cigarro nos 12 meses anteriores à entrevista e as características associadas a esse consumo foram investigados. RESULTADOS: Dos 192 indivíduos com transtornos mentais graves entrevistados, 115 (59,9%; IC 95%: 52,6%;66,9%) referiram ter feito uso diário de cigarros. Ser do sexo masculino, ser separado ou viúvo, fazer uso irregular de neurolépticos e ter história de dez ou mais internações anteriores mostraram-se independentemente associados ao tabagismo. CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de tabagismo na amostra de indivíduos com transtornos mentais graves foi maior que a encontrada na população geral brasileira. Serviços de saúde mental devem promover políticas anti-fumo e profissionais de saúde mental devem ajudar os portadores de transtornos mentais graves que desejarem parar de fumar

Impacto em cuidadores de idosos com demência atendidos em um serviço psicogeriátrico

OBJETIVO: O número de idosos com demência no Brasil está crescendo rapidamente, e há carência de dados empíricos sobre o impacto em cuidadores informais. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o impacto sobre cuidadores informais de pacientes com síndrome demencial. MÉTODOS: Estudo de corte transversal foi conduzido em um serviço psicogeriátrico da cidade de São Paulo, Brasil. Entrevistas estruturadas e semi-estruturadas foram aplicadas em 49 idosos com demência e em seus cuidadores informais. O impacto em cuidadores foi avaliado com a Zarit Burden Interview. RESULTADOS: Os pacientes eram em sua maioria do sexo feminino, apresentavam escore médio no mini exame do estado mental de 12,2 e alta freqüência de transtornos de comportamento. Os cuidadores eram predominantemente mulheres, filhas ou esposas, e co-residiam com seus pacientes. A média de impacto foi de 32,4 (dp: 16,7). As variáveis estatisticamente associadas a níveis de impacto foram o grau de parentesco do cuidador com o paciente (p=0,011), sintomas psiquiátricos do cuidador (pOBJECTIVE: There is an increasingly number of demented elderly in Brazil but empirical data on the resulting impact on their informal caregivers is still poorly documented. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact on informal caregivers of elderly with dementia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a psychogeriatric unit in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Structured and semi-structured interviews were administered to 49 elderly patients with dementia and their caregivers. The impact on the caregiver was measured using the Zarit Burden Interview. RESULTS: Most patients were females, had an average score of 12.2 in the Mini Mental State Examination and high incidence of disruptive behavior. Caregivers were predominantly females, generally wives or daughters who lived with their patients. The mean impact score was 32.4 (SD 16.7). Variables statistically associated with the level of impact were: degree of kinship between patient and caregiver (p=0.011); caregiver's psychiatric symptoms (

Biodegradation of textile azo dyes by a facultative Staphylococcus arlettae strain VN-11 using a sequential microaerophilic/aerobic process

A facultative Staphylococcus arlettae bacterium, isolated from an activated sludge process in a textile industry, was able to successfully decolourize four different azo dyes under microaerophilic conditions (decolourization percentage >97%). Further aeration of the decolourized effluent was performed to promote oxidation of the degradation products. The degradation products were characterized by FT-IR and UV–vis techniques and their toxicity with respect to Daphnia magna was measured. The amine concentrations as well as the total organic carbon (TOC) levels were monitored during the biodegradation process. The presence of aromatic amine in the microaerophilic stage and its absence in the aerobic stage indicated the presence of azoreductase activity and an oxidative biodegradation process, respectively. TOC reduction was ∼15% in the microaerophilic stage and ∼70% in the aerobic stage. The results provided evidence that, using a single Staphylococcus arlettae strain in the same bioreactor, the sequential microaerophilic/aerobic stages were able to form aromatic amines by reductive break-down of the azo bond and to oxidize them into non-toxic metabolites.The authors would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT) for providing the grant to Andrea Zille (SFRH/BPD/24238/2005), and the Brazilian Foundation for the Coordination of the Improvement of University Graduates of the Ministry of Education (CAPES) and the National Research Counsel (CNPq) for providing the grants to Elisangela Franciscon

Stereoselective synthesis of 2,3-unsaturated-O-Glycosides promoted by TeBr4

The use of a catalytic amount of tellurium(IV) tetrabromide to promote the O-glycosylation of glycals to yield 2,3-unsaturated-O-glycosides is described. The desired compounds were obtained in good yields and high α-selectivity

Polymerization study of the aromatic amines generated by the biodegradation of azo dyes using the laccase enzyme

Four different azo dyes were decolorized (color reduction >90%) by bacteria isolated from a textile wastewater effluent. Dye decolorizing was carried out under microaerobic conditions until completion, after which the aromatic amine concentration was determined. A laccase from Myceliophthora thermophila was used to catalyze coupling reactions of the aromatic amines produced from decolorizing the dyes. The reaction was carried out with stirring (100 rpm) in a weak acidic buffer solution (pH 5.0) at 45 °C for 3 days. The presence of aromatic amines in the samples after bacterial decolorizing confirmed the azo bond was reduced in the process. In addition, the UV–vis spectrum was shifted significantly after the sequential bacterial-laccase treatment also indicating a chemical transformation of the dyes. After laccase treatment the solutions formed colored soluble and precipitated products. The particles sizes making up the precipitates formed after laccase treatment varied between 105 and 483 nm as determined by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (PCS). The laccase treatment also reduced the COD of the dye solutions by ∼20%. We show that successive bacterial-laccase treatment is effective in decolorized azo dyes by reduction of the azo bonds, and promoting coupling reactions between the aromatic amines formed. Promoting coupling reactions between the aromatic amines using enzymes may prove useful for the physical removal and reuse of these amines.The authors would like to thank the Brazilian Foundation Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior of the Ministry of Education (CAPES) and the National Counsel for Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) for providing grants to Elisangela Franciscon

Abordagem qualitativa em um fragmento de floresta estacional semidecídua, urbana, (“Bosque John Kennedy”) em Araguari (MG, Brasil)como proposta de conservação e manejo

htm>Abordagem qualitativa em um fragmento de floresta estacional semidecídua, urbana, (“Bosque John Kennedy”) em Araguari (MG, Brasil)como proposta de conservação e manejo</htm

High frequency of silent brain infarcts associated with cognitive deficits in an economically disadvantaged population

OBJECTIVE: Using magnetic resonance imaging, we aimed to assess the presence of silent brain vascular lesions in a sample of apparently healthy elderly individuals who were recruited from an economically disadvantaged urban region (São Paulo, Brazil). We also wished to investigate whether the findings were associated with worse cognitive performance. METHODS: A sample of 250 elderly subjects (66-75 years) without dementia or neuropsychiatric disorders were recruited from predefined census sectors of an economically disadvantaged area of Sao Paulo and received structural magnetic resonance imaging scans and cognitive testing. A high proportion of individuals had very low levels of education (4 years or less, n=185; 21 with no formal education). RESULTS: The prevalence of at least one silent vascular-related cortical or subcortical lesion was 22.8% (95% confidence interval, 17.7-28.5), and the basal ganglia was the most frequently affected site (63.14% of cases). The subgroup with brain infarcts presented significantly lower levels of education than the subgroup with no brain lesions as well as significantly worse current performance in cognitive test domains, including memory and attention (

Neuroanatomical pattern classification in a population-based sample of first-episode schizophrenia

AbstractRecent neuroanatomical pattern classification studies have attempted to individually classify cases with psychotic disorders using morphometric MRI data in an automated fashion. However, this approach has not been tested in population-based samples, in which variable patterns of comorbidity and disease course are typically found. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy (DA) of the above technique to discriminate between incident cases of first-episode schizophrenia identified in a circumscribed geographical region over a limited period of time, in comparison with next-door healthy controls. Sixty-two cases of first-episode schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder and 62 age, gender and educationally-matched controls underwent 1.5T MRI scanning at baseline, and were naturalistically followed-up over 1year. T1-weighted images were used to train a high-dimensional multivariate classifier, and to generate both spatial maps of the discriminative morphological patterns between groups and ROC curves. The spatial map discriminating first-episode schizophrenia patients from healthy controls revealed a complex pattern of regional volumetric abnormalities in the former group, affecting fronto-temporal-occipital gray and white matter regions bilaterally, including the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, as well as the third and lateral ventricles. However, an overall modest DA (73.4%) was observed for the individual discrimination between first-episode schizophrenia patients and controls, and the classifier failed to predict 1-year prognosis (remitting versus non-remitting course) of first-episode schizophrenia (DA=58.3%). In conclusion, using a “real world” sample recruited with epidemiological methods, the application of a neuroanatomical pattern classifier afforded only modest DA to classify first-episode schizophrenia subjects and next-door healthy controls, and poor discriminative power to predict the 1-year prognosis of first-episode schizophrenia

Th-232 Radiological Aspects of Carbonate Niobium Mining Waste Use as Agricultural Amendment

The use of mining residues in agriculture may be possible, as long as there be previous studies in different areas, one of them being the analysis of the involved radionuclides behavior. This study determined the concentrations of 232Th activity in soil, soil treated with lime, soil with carbonate residue from niobium mining, soil with the mixture of lime and carbonate, in two moments. The transfer factor of 232Th from the soil to the plant was analyzed, in this case, lettuce (n=20), in the different types of treatment and in two moments. The addition of carbonate to the soils did not significantly alter the levels of radioactivity for 232Th radionuclide in lettuce. The effective dose resulting from the lettuce ingestion varied from 0.09 to 0.3 µSv y-1

Polypropylene meshes coated with chitosan/polyethylene glycol for the reconstruction of the abdominal wall: an experimental study in rats

The aim of this study was to characterize the tissue reactions triggered by the polypropylene mesh coated with chitosan and polyethylene glycol film, and if it's able to prevent the formation of peritoneal adhesions. Defects in the abdominal wall of rats were induced and polypropylene meshes coated with chitosan/polyethylene glycol (CPEG group, n= 12) and uncoated (PP control group, n= 12) were implanted. On the fourth and forty-fifth postoperative day the formation of adhesion and the tissue reaction to the biomaterial was evaluated through histological and histochemical analysis. The area (P= 0.01) and severity (P= 0.002) of the adhesion was significatively less in the CPEG group. On the fourth day the foreign body reaction was less intense in CPEG group (P= 0.018) and the production of collagen fibers was more intense in this group (P= 0.041). The tissue reactions caused by the biomaterials were similar on the 45th day, with the exception of the high organization of collagen fibers in the CPEG group. The CPEG meshes did not fully prevent the formation of adhesions, but minimized the severity of the process. The foreign body reaction promoted by polypropylene meshes coated with CPEG is less intense than that triggered by uncoated polypropylene meshes71411981206CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã