Identification of putative new Escherichia coli flagellar antigens from human origin using serology, PCR-RFlP and DNA sequencing methods

Escherichia coli has been isolated frequently, showing flagellar antigens that are not recognized by any of the 53 antisera, provided by the most important reference center of E. coli, The International Escherichia and Klebsiella Center (WHO) of the Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark. The objective of this study was to characterize flagellar antigens of E. coli that express non-typeable H antigens. The methods used were serology, PCR-RFLP and DNA sequencing. This characterization was performed by gene amplification of the fliC (flagellin protein) by polymerase chain reaction in all 53 standards E.coli strains for the H antigens and 20 E. coli strains for which the H antigen was untypeable. The amplicons were digested by restriction enzymes, and different restriction enzyme profiles were observed. Anti-sera were produced in rabbits, for the non-typeable strains, and agglutination tests were carried out. In conclusion,the results showed that although non-typeable and typable H antigens strains had similar flagellar antigens, the two types of strains were distinct in terms of nucleotide sequence, and did not phenotypically react with the standard antiserum, as expected. Thirteen strains had been characterized as likely putative new H antigen using PCR-RFLP techniques, DNA sequencing and/or serology.14415

Interleukin-6 Gene Polymorphisms Influencing in hematological indices from sickle cell Anemia Patients

The homozygous hemoglobin SS is characterized Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA), altering the original structure of erythrocytes to a sickle shape.  The hemoglobinopathies encompass all genetic diseases of hemoglobin and the SCA is the one that presents the greatest clinical manifestations variability and also the most severe ones, causing chronic hemolysis, vaso-occlusive crises and severe anemia in patients. The present study aimed to investigate the role of rs2069832, rs2069835, rs2069840, rs2069845 and rs2069849 polymorphisms in the Interleukin-6 gene in the hematological values of SCA patients treated at Fundação HEMOAM, Manaus, AM. The inclusion of patients was carried out through outpatient care at HEMOAM. Genomic DNA was extracted using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen) and molecular analyzes by TaqMan® probes on Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 6 Flex Real-Time PCR System. A total of 277 SCA patients were included in this study, having the female gender having a minimally higher frequency (55.3%). The mean age at diagnosis was approximately three years old, with brown race being the most predominant (77.6%). The rs2069832_AA and rs2069845_AA genotypes showed high values for red blood cell, hemoglobin and hematocrit indices, by having an important role as a protective factor for hemolysis in these patients. While the rs2069835_CC genotype showed decreased values for the same hematimetric indices, demonstrating to be a potential risk factor for increased hemolysis. No significant correlation in hematimetric indices was observed for the rs2069840 and rs2069849 genotypes. There are few studies correlating the genetic variants of the IL-6 gene in SCA in the state of Amazonas, however, it is known that IL-6 is involved in cell proliferation and greater response to inflammatory cytokines, and may modulate the clinical response in these patients, such as chronic hemolysis, vaso-occlusion and infections. Our work demonstrated associations of risk and protective IL-6 genotypes for possible hemolysis in patients with sickle cell anemia. We understand that an investigation with a larger number of patients would be recommended to elucidate the roles of the studied polymorphisms in sickle cell anemia. In addition, elucidating the role of Il-6 in sickle cell anemia may lead to the development of new strategies and therapies to prevent the systemic effects of excessive cytokine production and, consequently, reduce the severity of crises in these patients, providing better prognosis, clinical follow-up and welfare

Dispensing errors in a Rio de Janeiro tertiary hospital: incidence, types, and causes / Erros de dispensação em hospital terciário do Rio de Janeiro: incidência, tipos e causas

Objective: In this study, the drug dispensing system of a tertiary care center was analysed, with the purpose of identifying the occurrence of dispensing errors, their types, causes, and the role of double checking in prevention. The main factors that contribute for the errors and the recommendations to avoid them have been evaluated from the perspective of the professionals involved in the dispensation process. Methods: 1,077 prescriptions were assessed in a 6-month  period. The errors were recorded and corrected before the medication left the pharmacy. Each pharmaceutical unit dispensed was considered as a possibility of error. The results were analyze through descriptive statistics (average, median, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and frequencies). In the second step of the research, the opinion of the professionals directly involved with dispensing  about causes and consequences of the errors was assessed through a questionnaire with  open and closed questions to explore the factors and causes of errors. Results: A 4.5% rate of dispensing errors inside the pharmacy was observed , during the double-check process. The rate observed when the medicines arrived at the admission units was of 0.37%.  The most frequent class of errors in dispensing was drug omission (62.9%), followed by dose added errors (11.7%); incorrect time (10.2%); incorrect drug (9.2%), and changed dosage form (6.4%). We found a direct relationship between the number of dispensed items during a shift and the number of dispensing errors (?=0,844). The schedule for team shifts  influenced the error rate (p=0,016). Conclusion: Knowing the dispensing error profile is crucial for promoting behaviour changes and to define adequated error barriers

Gastric-resistant isoniazid pellets reduced degradation of rifampicin in acidic medium

Isoniazid and rifampicin are considered the first-line medication for preventing and treating tuberculosis. Rifampicin is degraded in the stomach acidic environment, especially when combined with isoniazid, factor contributing to treatment failure. In this study, gastric-resistant isoniazid pellets were obtained to physical contact of this drug with rifampicin and to bypass the stomach´s acidic environment. The pellets were fabricated using the extrusion-spheronization technique. The coating process was conducted in a fluid spray coater using Acrycoat L 100(r) solution as the coating agent. The pellets obtained were submitted to a dissolution test in HCl 0.1 N and phosphate buffer media. The results indicated that optimum gastric-resistance was only attained with the highest amount of coating material, with isoniazid almost fully released in phosphate buffer. The amount of rifampicin released from its mixture with non-coated isoniazid pellets in HCl 0.1 N was less than that released from its mixture with the enteric-coated pellets. Acrycoat L 100(r) was shown to be an effective enteric/gastric-resistant coating since the stability of rifampicin appeared to be enhanced when physical contact of this drug with isoniazid was prevented at low pH.Isoniazida e rifampicina são fármacos de primeira escolha para a prevenção e tratamento da tuberculose. A rifampicina degrada-se em condições ácidas do estômago, principalmente na presença da isoniazida, o que contribui para a falha do tratamento. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo a obtenção de péletes de isoniazida gastrorresistentes, visando a evitar contato da rifampicina com isoniazida e consequente degradação no meio ácido estomacal. Os péletes foram produzidos pela técnica de extrusão-esferonização. O processo de revestimento foi conduzido em leito fluidizado com solução orgânica de Acrycoat L 100(r). Os péletes obtidos foram submetidos ao teste de dissolução em HCl 0,1 N e tampão fosfato. Os resultados indicam que a gastrorresistência foi obtida somente com a maior quantidade de revestimento, sendo a isoniazida liberada completamente no meio tampão fosfato. A quantidade de rifampicina dissolvida em meio ácido, quando associada a péletes de isoniazida não revestidos, foi menor do que a observada na presença de péletes de liberação entérica. O polímero Acrycoat L 100(r) mostrou-se eficiente para o recobrimento com a função de gastrorresistência, indicando que a instabilidade da rifampicina pode ser reduzida nas associações com a isoniazida através do revestimento entérico da isoniazida

Academic experiences of students from the State of Rio de Janeiro

This study aimed to identify and compare the defining features of adaptation to university of students of higher education in the six broad regions of the State of Rio de Janeiro. An instrument test, the Academic Experiences Questionnaire, was applied to 500 students. The main results obtained were that the students from the metropolitan region have better scores in “background for the course”; students from the southern region of the State had higher scores in the topics “family relationships”, “self autonomy”, “study methods”, “adapting to the institution”, “resource management”, “self-assurance”, “perception of self-competence” and “anxiety during exams”; and students from the region north of the State had better performance in the topics “physical welfare”, “psychological welfare” and “relationship with teachers”. Keywords: academic experiences; broad-regions of Rio de Janeiro; higher education; academic integration.Esta pesquisa buscou identificar e comparar as características da adaptação à universidade dos estudantes do ensino superior, nas seis mesorregiões do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. O instrumento, Questionário de Vivências Acadêmicas, foi aplicado em 500 estudantes. Encontrou-se, como principais resultados, que os estudantes da Região Metropolitana têm melhores escores no item “base para o curso”, que os alunos da Região Sul Fluminense apresentam maiores escores para os itens “relação com a família”, “autonomia pessoal”, “métodos de estudo”, “adaptação à instituição”, “gestão de recursos”, “autoconfiança”, “percepção de competência pessoal” e “ansiedade na realização de exames” e que os estudantes da Região Norte Fluminense tiveram melhor desempenho nos itens “bem estar físico”, “bem estar psicológico” e “relacionamento com os professores”. Palavras-chave: experiências acadêmicas; mesorregiões do Rio de Janeiro; ensino superior; integração acadêmica

Group B Streptococcus detection in pregnant women : comparison of qPCR assay, culture, and the Xpert GBS rapid test

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is one of the most important causative agents of neonatal sepsis. As administration of prophylactic antibiotics during labor can prevent GBS infection, routine screening for this bacterium in prenatal care before the onset of labor is recommended. However, many women present in labor without having undergone such testing during antenatal care, and the turnaround time of detection methods is insufficient for results to be obtained before delivery. Methods: Vaginal and anorectal specimens were collected from 270 pregnant women. Each sample was tested by Xpert GBS, qPCR, and culture for GBS detection. Results: The overall prevalence of maternal GBS colonization was 30.7% according to Xpert GBS, 51.1% according to qPCR, and 14.3% according to cultures. Considering the qPCR method as the reference, the Xpert GBS had a sensitivity of 53% and specificity of 93%. Positive Xpert GBS results were correlated to marital status (married or cohabitating) and with prematurity as a cause of neonatal hospitalization. Positive cultures were related with ischemic–hypoxic encephalopathy requiring therapeutic hypothermia. Conclusions: Combined enrichment/qPCR and the Xpert GBS rapid test found a high prevalence of GBS colonization. The Xpert GBS technique gives faster results and could be useful for evaluating mothers who present without antenatal GBS screening results and are at risk of preterm labor, thus allowing institution of prophylactic antibiotic therapy

Potential of characters for evaluating common bean plant architecture

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar indicadores efetivos da arquitetura de plantas em feijoeiro, para subsidiar, ou substituir, a avaliação por notas. Trinta e seis linhagens de feijão foram avaliadas quanto aos principais caracteres relacionados à arquitetura de plantas e a caracteres agronômicos, em duas safras. Os experimentos foram realizados em blocos ao acaso, com três repetições, em Coimbra, MG. A análise de trilha indicou que o ângulo de inserção dos ramos, a altura das plantas na colheita e o diâmetro do hipocótilo foram os principais caracteres determinantes da arquitetura de plantas do feijoeiro. O diâmetro do hipocótilo esteve fortemente associado com a nota de arquitetura e possibilitou elevada acurácia e precisão de mensuração. Essa característica é facilmente mensurada e é indicador efetivo da arquitetura de plantas do feijoeiro.The objective of this work was to identify effective indicators of plant architecture in common bean, to subsidize or replace the evaluation by scores. Thirty‑six common bean lines were evaluated regarding the main characters related to plant architecture and agronomic traits, in two harvest seasons. The experiments were carried out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates in Coimbra, MG, Brazil. Path analysis showed that the insertion angle of branches, plant height at harvest, and hypocotyl diameter were the main determinants of plant architecture of common bean. Hypocotyl diameter was strongly related to the architecture score, and allowed high accuracy and precision in measurement. This trait is easily measured and is an effective indicator of bean plant architecture