Psychoactive drug advertising: analysis of scientific information

OBJECTIVE: According to the World Health Organization, medicinal drug promotion should be reliable, accurate, truthful, informative, balanced, up-to-date and capable of substantiation. The objective of the present study was to review psychoactive drug advertisements to physicians as for information consistency with the related references and accessibility of the cited references. METHODS: Data was collected in the city of Araraquara, Southeastern Brazil, in 2005. There were collected and reviewed 152 drug advertisements, a total of 304 references. References were requested directly from pharmaceutical companies' customer services and searched in UNESP (Ibict, Athenas) and BIREME (SciELO, PubMed, free-access indexed journals) library network and CAPES journals. Advertisement statements were checked against references using content analysis. RESULTS: Of all references cited in the advertisements studied, 66.7% were accessed. Of 639 promotional statements identified, 346 (54%) were analyzed. The analysis showed that 67.7% of promotional statements in the advertisements were consistent with their references, while the remaining was either partially consistent or inconsistent. Of the material analyzed, an average 2.5 (1-28) references was cited per advertisement. In the text body, there were identified 639 pieces of information clearly associated with at least one cited reference (average 3.5 pieces of information per advertisement). CONCLUSIONS: The study results evidenced difficult access to the references. Messages on efficacy, safety and cost, among others, are not always supported by scientific studies. There is a need for regulation changes and effective monitoring of drug promotional materials.OBJETIVO: Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde, as propagandas de medicamentos devem ser fidedignas, exatas, verdadeiras, informativas, equilibradas, atualizadas e passíveis de comprovação. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar as propagandas de medicamentos psicoativos divulgadas a médicos, em relação à concordância das informações contidas nas peças publicitárias com as suas respectivas referências bibliográficas e à acessibilidade dessas referências citadas. MÉTODOS: A coleta de dados foi realizada durante o ano de 2005, em Araraquara, SP. Foram coletadas e analisadas propagandas de 152 medicamentos, num total de 304 referências. As referências bibliográficas foram solicitadas aos serviços de atendimento ao cliente dos laboratórios e consultadas nas bibliotecas da rede UNESP (Ibict, Athenas), BIREME (SciELO, PubMed, periódicos catalogados de acesso livre) e periódicos CAPES. As afirmações das propagandas foram conferidas com as das referências por meio da técnica de análise de conteúdo. RESULTADOS: Das referências citadas nas propagandas, 66,7% foram acessadas. De 639 afirmações identificadas, foi possível analisar 346 (54%). Verificou-se que 67,7% das afirmações das propagandas conferiam com suas referências e as demais não conferiam ou conferiam parcialmente. Entre as propagandas analisadas, foi observada média de 2,5 (1-28) referências citadas por propaganda. No corpo das propagandas, foram identificadas 639 informações que estavam explicitamente associadas à pelo menos uma das referências citadas (média de 3,5 informações por propaganda). CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados evidenciaram a dificuldade de acesso às referências. As mensagens de eficácia, segurança, custos, entre outras, nem sempre estão respaldadas por estudos científicos. São necessárias mudanças nas exigências legais e fiscalização efetiva das promoções de medicamentos.Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio Mesquita Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas. Departamento de Fármacos e MedicamentosUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de PsicobiologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de PsicobiologiaSciEL

Flexural response of HSC girders strengthened with non- and prestressed CFRP laminates

An experimental programme was carried out to characterise the flexural response of prestressed highstrength concrete (HSC) girders strengthened with CFRP laminates. For that purpose, four beams with 20 m span were subjected to four-point bending loads and the effectiveness of two distinct strengthening strategies was analysed. The following testing situations have been considered: one girder was externally strengthened with CFRP laminates, whereas one was externally strengthened with prestressed CFRP laminates; the two remaining girders were left unstrengthened and were used as control. The monitoring system included the measurement of deflections at critical sections, strains in pre-selected points of the concrete girder and CFRP laminates and the applied loading, respectively using displacement transducers, strain gages and load cells. Herein, the tests are thoroughly described and the most relevant results and conclusions are presented

Comportamento à rotura de vigas de betão de alta resistência reforçadas com CFRP

O presente artigo encontra-se inserido num projeto que visa caracterizar o comportamento de vigas de Betão de Alta Resistência (HSC) reforçadas com laminados de CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer). Para o efeito, foi definido um programa experimental que compreende o reforço de uma viga fabricada em HSC e o seu ensaio em flexão até à rotura. A realização de um estudo numérico prévio permitiu concluir que a aplicação de pré-esforço aos laminados de CFRP aumentaria de forma considerável a eficiência do reforço. Sendo assim a viga pré-esforçada de grande vão (20 m), fabricada com um betão de resistência à compressão de 120 MPa e de secção transversal em I (com altura de 0.5 m e largura de 0.30 m) foi reforçada com laminados de CFRP pré-esforçados. A operação de reforço das vigas foi precedida do carregamento das mesmas com uma carga correspondente a uma combinação quase permanente de ações, mantida constante durante a operação de reforço, de forma a simular o reforço de elementos estruturais em aplicações correntes de engenharia civil. Após reforço, a viga foi ensaiada até à rotura por flexão. Os resultados deste estudo foram comparados com os obtidos em ensaios à rotura de duas vigas de HSC não reforçadas com as mesmas dimensões e condições de ensaio, apresentando-se as principais conclusões

Geological framework of potentialities and malfunctions in land use planning of Estorãos River Valley (Ponte de Lima – NW Portugal)

O Vale do rio Estorãos apresenta uma diversidade geológica singular, materializada em vários fulcros de interesse geológico - patrimonial e potencial ou económico. Antevêem-se possíveis óbices à valorização destes locais o que suscita a necessidade de elaboração de um quadro de ordenamento sustentável a nível municipal e regional capaz de evitar a sua depreciação e também implica a discussão da apetência potencial/patrimonial de cada fulcro previamente detectado em busca de um balanço integrado para a sustentabilidade do usufruto da unidade territorial.The Estorãos river Valley presents a singular geological diversity, materialized in many targets of geological interest – heritage interest and economic potential. Possible blockages to its adequate valorization impose the inclusion of these occurrences in a framework of municipal and regional land use, to prevent its depreciation, balancing the territorial land use with natural preservation and studying for each case the possible dichotomy between sustainable development and the preservation of environmental quality

Hydrothermal processing of hardwoods and agro-industrial residues :evaluation of xylo-oligosaccharides production

Autohydrolysis was used as a pre-treatment method for the selective hydrolysis of hemicelluloses of four lignocellulosic materials: eucalypt wood chips (EWC), corn cobs (CC), wheat straw (WS) and brewery’s spent grain (BSG), and the process was optimized towards the production of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS). The effects of temperature, both at isothermal (150-190ºC), and non-isothermal (up to 240ºC) conditions, and liquid-to-solid ratio (LSR), 8 or 10 g/g, on the composition of both the liquid and solid phases were studied. The operational conditions leading to the maximal recovery of XOS for each raw material were established and discussed based on the severity factor (log R0). The higher yields obtained were in the range of 43–65% of the feedstock (arabino)xylan, with the highest value attained for CC for log R0 =3.75. Under the optimised conditions for XOS production, glucan was only slightly solubilised, enabling an enrichment of the solid phase (up to 67% of glucan for EWC). Delignification was also not extensive reaching utmost 18%, in the case of CC. cosmetic industries

Spherical and rod shaped mesoporous nanosilicas for cancer- targeted and photosensitizers delivery in photodynamic therapy

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) have attracted much attention in many biomedical applications. One of the fields in which smart functional nanosystems have found wide application is cancer treatment. Here, we present new silica nanoparticle-based systems which have been explored as efficient vehicles to transport and deliver photosensitizers (PSs) into tumor tissues during photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this work, we report the preparation, characterization, and in vitro studies of distinct shaped MSNPs grafted with S-glycoside porphyrins (Pors). The ensuing nanomaterials were fully characterized, and their properties as third-generation PSs for PDT against two bladder cancer cell lines, HT-1376 and UM-UC-3, were examined. The best uptake results were obtained for MSNP-PS2, while MSNP-PS1 showed the lowest cellular uptake among the nanocarriers tested, but revealed the best phototoxicity in both cancer cells. Overall, the phototoxicity was higher with MSNPs than with mesoporous silica nanorods (MSNRs) and higher uptake and phototoxicity were consistently observed in UM-UC-3 rather than in HT-1376 cancer cellpublishe

A single-phase current-source converter combined with a hybrid converter for interfacing an electric vehicle and a renewable energy source

This paper presents a single-phase current-source converter (CSC) combined with a hybrid converter on the dc-link, allowing to interface an electric vehicle (EV) and a renewable energy source (RES). Therefore, the interface with the power grid is only performed through the CSC, which also permits the operation as shunt active power filter (SAPF), allowing to compensate power quality problems related with current and low power factor in the electrical installation. The whole system is composed by two main power stages, namely, the CSC that is responsible for compensating the current harmonics and low power factor, as well as operating as a grid-tied inverter or as an active rectifier, and the hybrid converter that is responsible for interfacing the dc-link of the CSC with the converters for the EV and the RES interfaces. As demonstrated along the paper, the CSC, combined with the hybrid converter on the dc-link, allows the operation as SAPF, as well as the operation in bidirectional mode, specifically for the EV operation, and also for injecting power from the RES. In the paper, the power electronics structure is described and the principle of operation is introduced, supported by the description of the control algorithms. The validation results show the proper operation of the CSC, combined with the hybrid converter on the dc-link, for the main conditions of operation, namely exchanging power with the power grid in bidirectional mode and operating as a SAPF.This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia with-in the Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. This work has been supported by the FCT Project newERA4GRIDs PTDC/EEI-EEE/30283/2017 and the FCT Project DAIPESEV PTDC/EEI-EEE/30382/2017

Riparian Ecological Infrastructures: Potential for Biodiversity-Related Ecosystem Services in Mediterranean Human-Dominated Landscapes

Riparian Ecological Infrastructures are networks of natural and semi-natural riparian areas located in human-dominated landscapes, crucial in supporting processes that directly or indirectly benefit humans or enhance social welfare. In this study, we developed a novel multimetric index, termed Habitat Ecological Infrastructure’s Diversity Index (HEIDI), to quantify the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting biodiversity, and related ecosystem services, in three managed landscapes: Intensive Agriculture, Extensive Agriculture, and Forest Production. Metrics describing the structure, composition, and management of riparian vegetation and associated habitats were used to derive the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in supporting three distinct biological dispersal groups: short-range dispersers (ants), medium-range dispersers (pollinators), and long-range dispersers (birds, bats, and non-flying small mammals). The composition of floristic resources, assessed by identifying trees and shrubs at the species and genus level, and herbaceous plants at the family level, was used as a proxy to evaluate the potential of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures in promoting seed dispersal and pollination ecosystem services provided by the three biological communities. Our research evidenced that Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Forest Production and Intensive Agriculture landscapes exhibited the highest and lowest potential for biodiversity-related ecosystem services, respectively. The Forest Production landscape revealed higher suitability of forage resources for short- and medium-range dispersers and a higher landscape coverage by Riparian Ecological Infrastructures, resulting in more potential to create ecological corridors and to provide ecosystem services. The Riparian Ecological Infrastructures located in the Extensive Agriculture landscape seemed to be particularly relevant for supporting long-ranges dispersers, despite providing less habitat for the biological communities. Land-use systems in the proximity of Riparian Ecological Infrastructures should be sustainably managed to promote riparian vegetation composition and structural quality, as well as the riparian width, safeguarding biodiversity, and the sustainable provision of biodiversity-related ecosystem servicesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio