Microencapsulación de compuestos de actividad biologica

La microencapsulación de compuestos de actividad biológica (ADN, fármacos, proteínas, probióticos, enzimas, etc.), desde el punto de vista tecnológico podría definirse como el proceso de recubrimiento de dichos compuestos, bajo la forma de moléculas, partículas sólidas o glóbulos líquidos, con materiales de distinta naturaleza, para dar lugar a partículas de tamaño micrométrico. Uno de los polímeros naturales más utilizados para la producción de microesferas es el quitosano. Diversos métodos han sido propuestos para la producción de microcápsulas divididos en tres grupos: procesos físicos, procesos químicos y procesos físico-químicos. En el presente trabajo se ensayaron distintas metodologías para la producción de microesferas y micropartículas de quitosano. Según la metodología empleada se obtuvieron distintos tipos de esferas en lo que respecta a tamaño y densidad. Las micropartículas obtenidas se evaluaron mediante microscopía óptica, electrónica de barrido, así como se realizó la evaluación de su estabilidad y liberación del agente encapsulado

Detection of Eight Cannabinoids and One Tracer in Wastewater and River Water by SPE-UPLC–ESI-MS/MS

The consumption of illicit drugs represents a global social and economic problem. Using suitable analytical methods, monitoring, and detection of different illegal drugs residues and their metabolites in wastewater samples can help combat this problem. Our article defines a method to develop, validate, and practically applicate a rapid and robust analytical process for the evaluation of six naturally occurring cannabinoids (CBG, CBD, CBDV, CBN, THC, THCV), two cannabinoids in acidic form (CBDA, THCA-A), and the major cannabis-related human metabolite (THC-COOH). After SPE offline enrichment, we used a UPLC–ESI-MS/MS system, which permitted the determination of several by-products. Studied matrices were samples of different origins: (i) effluent water from a wastewater treatment plant in the Porto urban area; (ii) environmental water from Febros River, the last left-bank tributary of the Douro River. The multi-residue approach was substantiated and successfully employed to analyze the water samples collected in the above locations. The rapid and precise quantification of nine different cannabinoids in different water samples occurred within nine minutes at the ng L−1 level. The appearance of dozens of ng L−1 of some cannabis secondary metabolites, such as CBD, CBDA, CBN, THCA-A, indicates this plant species’ widespread usage among the general population in the considered area

Prescription and patient-care indicators in healthcare services

OBJECTIVE: To describe the therapeutic practice of allopathic physicians and to evaluate the outpatient care provided to patients in healthcare facilities. METHODS: The study was conducted in Ribeirão Preto, southeastern Brazil. World Health Organization drug use indicators were used as a methodological basis. Our sample comprised 10 healthcare facilities, with 6,692 prescriptions written by clinicians and pediatricians for the analysis of prescription indicators and 30 patients of each facility for the analysis of patient care indicators. The number of facilities varied according to each indicator. We used statistical tests for the comparison of proportions. RESULTS: The mean number of drugs per prescription was 2.2, which is compatible with data from the literature. The generic name of the medication was used in 30.6% of prescriptions, a proportion considered as low. Antibiotics were prescribed in 21.3% of prescriptions, with greater percentage among pediatricians (28.9%). Injections were prescribed in 8.3% of prescriptions, with greater proportion among clinicians (13.1%). The drugs prescribed in 83.4% of prescriptions were part of the List of Standardized Drugs, indicating the acceptance of this list by healthcare professionals. Mean duration was 9.2 minutes for appointments and 18.4 seconds dispensation, both considered as insufficient for effective patient care. 60.3% of all drugs prescribed were supplied. 70.0% of patients interviewed had adequate knowledge of how to take the medication prescribed. CONCLUSIONS: The care provided to patients is insufficient. Qualitative studies are necessary in order to evaluate the different factors involved and to plan future interventions.OBJETIVO: Descrever a prática terapêutica de médicos alopatas e avaliar a assistência ambulatorial prestada a pacientes de unidades de saúde. MÉTODOS: O estudo foi realizado em Ribeirão Preto, SP, utilizando como base metodológica os indicadores de uso de medicamentos da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Nos de prescrição, trabalhou-se com 10 unidades de saúde e 6.692 receitas de clínicos e pediatras. Nos indicadores de assistência ao paciente a amostra foi composta por 30 pacientes em cada unidade, sendo o número de unidades variável para cada indicador. Foi utilizado o teste de comparação de proporções. RESULTADOS: O número médio de medicamentos por receita foi de 2,2 compatível com o observado na literatura. Das prescrições, 30,6% foram feitas pela denominação genérica, valor considerado baixo. A prescrição de antibióticos ocorreu em 21,3% das receitas, com maior percentual entre os pediatras (28,9%). Em 8,3% das receitas houve prescrição de injetável, sendo o maior percentual observado entre os clínicos (13,1%). Em 83,4% das prescrições, os medicamentos constavam da Lista de Medicamentos Padronizados, indicativo de sua aceitação entre os profissionais. O tempo médio de consulta foi de 9,2 minutos e o de dispensação de 18,4 segundos, ambos insuficientes para uma efetiva atenção ao paciente. Do total de medicamentos prescritos, 60,3% foram fornecidos. Em 70% das entrevistas os pacientes tinham conhecimento da forma correta de tomar o medicamento. CONCLUSÕES: A assistência prestada ao paciente é insuficiente. Estudos qualitativos são necessários para uma avaliação dos diversos fatores envolvidos, e futuras intervenções

Biodegradation study of I lignin-based rigid polyrethane foams

Polyurethanes are considered as one of the most versatile polymeric materials offering a wide range of products with applications in diverse sectors. Rigid polyurethane (RPU) foams belong to this class of products and represent a commercially important class of expanded materials. In the present work RPU foams have been prepared from lignin-based polyols (LP) obtained by oxypropylation of two technical lignins (Alcell and Indulin AT) and biodegradability evaluated using respirometry tests in liquid and solid media. A RPU foam produced from a commercial polyether polyol (CP) based on sorbitol (Lupranol® 3323) was used as reference. Lignin biodegradation by P. chrysogenum, T. harzianum, T. reesei, T. versicolor and P. chrysosporium fungi was tested. Respirometry tests (in liquid and solid media) were performed and foam’s biodegradation evaluated based on the produced CO2.FCT (grant SFRH/BD/18415/2004) and the French-Portuguese Scientific Cooperation (actions F-13/06 and F-32/08)

What makes SMEs more likely to collaborate? Analysing the role of regional policy

The last twenty years have witnessed the diffusion of regional innovation policies supporting networks of innovators. The underlying aim of these policies is to encourage firms, particularly SMEs, to undertake collaborations with organisations possessing complementary knowledge. Focusing on a set of SMEs that have participated, over time, in several innovation networks funded by the same regional government, the paper investigates how their relationships have evolved with respect to the following aspects: (i) reiteration of pre-existing relationships as opposed to experimentation of new relationships; (ii) collaboration with organisations possessing complementary rather than similar knowledge and competencies; (iii) creation of local relationships rather than experimentation of extra-local collaborations; (iv) reliance upon intermediaries to connect with other organisations. Our findings reveal that the involvement in these policy-supported networks changed the firms’ relational patterns, leading them to collaborate with a wider variety of agents than those with whom they were linked before the policies. Sectoral heterogeneity had a negative effect on the probability to collaborate, while co-localisation increased the likelihood to collaborate. Mutual involvement with intermediaries also had a positive effect. However, in the case of firm-to-university relationships only specialized intermediaries were likely to perform a positive role and, therefore, encourage networking

A functional-cognitive framework for attitude research

In attitude research, behaviours are often used as proxies for attitudes and attitudinal processes. This practice is problematic because it conflates the behaviours that need to be explained (explanandum) with the mental constructs that are used to explain these behaviours (explanans). In the current chapter we propose a meta-theoretical framework that resolves this problem by distinguishing between two levels of analysis. According to the proposed framework, attitude research can be conceptualised as the scientific study of evaluation. Evaluation is defined not in terms of mental constructs but in terms of elements in the environment, more specifically, as the effect of stimuli on evaluative responses. From this perspective, attitude research provides answers to two questions: (1) Which elements in the environment moderate evaluation? (2) What mental processes and representations mediate evaluation? Research on the first question provides explanations of evaluative responses in terms of elements in the environment (functional level of analysis); research on the second question offers explanations of evaluation in terms of mental processes and representations (cognitive level of analysis). These two levels of analysis are mutually supportive, in that better explanations at one level lead to better explanations at the other level. However, their mutually supportive relation requires a clear distinction between the concepts of their explanans and explanandum, which are conflated if behaviours are treated as proxies for mental constructs. The value of this functional-cognitive framework is illustrated by applying it to four central questions of attitude research

Nc886 is epigenetically repressed in prostate cancer and acts as a tumor suppressor through the inhibition of cell growth

Background: Nc886 is a 102 bp non-coding RNA transcript initially classified as a microRNA precursor (Pre-miR-886), later as a divergent homologue of the vault RNAs (vtRNA 2-1) and more recently as a novel type of RNA (nc886). Although nc886/vtRNA2-1/Pre-miR-886 identity is still controversial, it was shown to be epigenetically controlled, presenting both tumor suppressor and oncogenic function in different cancers. Here, we study for the first time the role of nc886 in prostate cancer. Methods: Nc886 promoter methylation status and its correlation with patient clinical parameters or DNMTs levels were evaluated in TCGA and specific GEO prostate tissue datasets. Nc886 level was measured by RT-qPCR to compare normal/neoplastic prostate cells from radical prostatectomies and cell lines, and to assess nc886 response to demethylating agents. The effect of nc886 recovery in cell proliferation (in vitro and in vivo) and invasion (in vitro) was evaluated using lentiviral transduced DU145 and LNCaP cell lines. The association between the expression of nc886 and selected genes was analyzed in the TCGA-PRAD cohort. Results: Nc886 promoter methylation increases in tumor vs. normal prostate tissue, as well as in metastatic vs. normal prostate tissue. Additionally, nc886 promoter methylation correlates with prostate cancer clinical staging, including biochemical recurrence, Clinical T-value and Gleason score. Nc886 transcript is downregulated in tumor vs. normal tissue -in agreement with its promoter methylation status- and increases upon demethylating treatment. In functional studies, the overexpression of nc886 in the LNCaP and DU145 cell line leads to a decreased in vitro cell proliferation and invasion, as well as a reduced in vivo cell growth in NUDE-mice tumor xenografts. Finally, nc886 expression associates with the prostate cancer cell cycle progression gene signature in TCGA-PRAD. Conclusions: Our data suggest a tumor suppressor role for nc886 in the prostate, whose expression is epigenetically silenced in cancer leading to an increase in cell proliferation and invasion. Nc886 might hold clinical value in prostate cancer due to its association with clinical parameters and with a clinically validated gene signature

Prato: The Social Construction of an Industrial City Facing Processes of Cultural Hybridization

This chapter deals with a widely studied case, that is, Prato, a middle-sized city with rooted industrial traditions, in the Centre of Italy. Prato is a textile industrial district embedded in the so-called Third Italy—an area characterized by the presence of small firms spread throughout the territory, linked together in supply and subcontracting relationships—which, in the last twenty years, has undergone a profound transformation as a consequence of the crisis of textile and immigration, leading to the formation of a large Chinese community. The related changes brought with them problems of social cohesion and sustainable development. The authors address these issues by analyzing both academic and public discourses on Prato. Their basic idea is that common stereotypes act as drivers of a public discourse that prevents the city to re-negotiate its identity. The analysis concludes that different forms of hybridization—particularly cultural hybridization—are occurring, which would need further investigations

The Triple Helix in the context of global change: dynamics and challenges

Understanding how economies change through interactions with science and government as different spheres of activity requires both new conceptual tools and methodologies. In this paper, the evolution of the metaphor of a Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations is elaborated into an evolutionary model, and positioned within the context of global economic changes. We highlight how Triple Helix relations are both continuing and mutating, and the conditions under which a Triple Helix might be seen to be unraveling in the face of pressures on each of the three helices – university, industry, and government. The reciprocal dynamics of innovation both in the Triple Helix thesis and in the global economy are empirically explored: we find that footlooseness of high technology manufacturing and knowledge-intensive services counteract the embeddedness prevailing in medium technology manufacturing. The geographical level at which synergy in Triple Helix relations can be expected and sustained varies among nations and regions