O sistema de fontes do Mercosul: problemas normativos e bases para a sua resolução

Xunta de Galicia (Consellería de Innovación, Industria e Comercio. Dirección Xeral de Investigación e Desenvolvemento)A. As fontes normativas: Direito originário, complementar e derivado. B. O problema da incorporação das normas. C. Os entraves constitucionais e possíveis soluções para os problemas normativos do Mercosul.S

Oral hygiene to a hospitalized dependent patient: perceptions of a nursing team

Objective: To discuss the perception of the nursing team about the oral hygiene of hospitalized dependent patients. Method: A descriptive, qualitative study performed in the medical and surgical clinics of a hospital in the interior of Bahia, from March to July 2006, data obtained through a semistructured interview applied to seventeen participants, complemented by structured observation. Outcome: After analyzing the thematic content emerged three categories that reveal: oral hygiene as important care for the patient; oral hygiene avoids the discomfort of the team in providing other care; and oral hygiene can be delegated to the family. Conclusion: In the context studied there is no protocol for this care, odors from the patient's mouth define their periodicity, oral hygiene is performed by family members and nurses do not participate directly in this care

Flora da Bahia: Caprifoliaceae

A floristic survey of Caprifoliaceae from Bahia state, Brazil, is presented here. One native species is recognized: Valeriana scandens. Description, illustration, comments, and distribution map of this specie in Bahia are provided.É apresentada aqui a Flora de Caprifoliaceae para o estado da Bahia, Brasil. É reconhecida uma espécie nativa: Valeriana scandens. São apresentados descrição morfológica, ilustração, comentários e mapa de distribuição geográfica da espécie na Bahia

High Hydrostatic Pressure Process to Improve Ethanol Production

The use of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) is an interesting approach to optimize the production of both first- and second-generation ethanol. It may be applied on Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to enhance the fermentation pathway and on the lignocellulosic biomass to increase sugar release. HHP has a wide effect on many biological processes, such as growth, division and cellular viability. Actually, conformation, stability, polymerization and depolymerization of proteins are affected by HHP as well as lipid packaging. Moreover, transcriptional profile analysis indicates an activation of the general stress response. In yeast, HHP higher than 100 MPa leads to significant morphological and physiological alteration, and loss of cellular viability occurs over 200 MPa. A yield rate increase in ethanol production occurs at pressures of 10–50 MPa, but over 87 MPa alcoholic fermentation is interrupted

Flora da Bahia: Magnoliaceae

The flora of the Magnoliaceae from Bahia, Brazil, is presented. Magnolia brasiliensis is the only native species in the state. Descriptions of the family, genus and species, illustrations, a distribution map and general notes are presented.É apresentada a flora de Magnoliaceae da Bahia, Brasil. Magnolia brasiliensis é a única espécie nativa no estado. São apresentadas descrições da família, do gênero e da espécie, além de ilustrações, mapa de distribuição e comentários gerais

Enhanced glucose-induced intracellular signaling promotes insulin hypersecretion: Pancreatic beta-cell functional adaptations in a model of genetic obesity and prediabetes

Obesity is associated with insulin resistance and is known to be a risk factor for type-2 diabetes. In obese individuals, pancreatic beta-cells try to compensate for the increased insulin demand in order to maintain euglycemia. Most studies have reported that this adaptation is due to morphological changes. However, the involvement of beta-cell functional adaptations in this process needs to be clarified. For this purpose, we evaluated different key steps in the glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) in intact islets from female ob/ob obese mice and lean controls. Obese mice showed increased body weight, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance and fed hyperglycemia. Islets from ob/ob mice exhibited increased glucose-induced mitochondrial activity, reflected by enhanced NAD(P)H production and mitochondrial membrane potential hyperpolarization. Perforated patch-clamp examination of beta-cells within intact islets revealed several alterations in the electrical activity such as increased firing frequency and higher sensitivity to low glucose concentrations. A higher intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in response to glucose was also found in ob/ob islets. Additionally, they displayed a change in the oscillatory pattern and Ca2+ signals at low glucose levels. Capacitance experiments in intact islets revealed increased exocytosis in individual ob/ob beta-cells. All these up-regulated processes led to increased GSIS. In contrast, we found a lack of beta-cell Ca2+ signal coupling, which could be a manifestation of early defects that lead to beta-cell malfunction in the progression to diabetes. These findings indicate that beta-cell functional adaptations are an important process in the compensatory response to obesity.This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BFU2013-42789-P; BFU2011-28358)This work was supported by grants from the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2011/080)This work was supported by grants from the European Foundation for the Study Diabetes (EFSD/BI Basic Programme

Teor de carotenoides em polpas de acerola congeladas

A acerola é uma espécie frutífera muito aceita pelos consumidores, que vem se destacando no Brasil e no mundo, principalmente por ser uma das principais fontes naturais de vitamina C e carotenoides, sendo amplamente industrializada na forma de polpa congelada.  Destacam-se como antioxidantes, elevando esse fruto ao campo dos alimentos funcionais, pois conferi benefícios na redução do risco de algumas doenças crônicas não transmissíveis como o câncer. Desta forma, o objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o teor de carotenoides em polpas de acerolas congeladas comercializadas em Picos-PI. Foram analisadas 5 amostras coletadas aleatoriamente no comércio varejista, a fim de realizar as análises. As polpas de acerolas analisadas apresentaram variação nos teores de β-caroteno de 23,49 a 37,04 mg/100ml e licopeno de 0,00 a 2,70 mg/100ml. Com a determinação dos carotenoides pode-se observar que as variações decorem de fatores que vão desde a área de cultivo da acerola até o armazenamento da polpa, embora as polpas tenham apresentado uma concentração relativamente boa de carotenoides.

COVID-19 outcomes in people living with HIV: Peering through the waves

Objective: To evaluate clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 patients infected with HIV, and to compare with a paired sample without HIV infection. Methods: This is a substudy of a Brazilian multicentric cohort that comprised two periods (2020 and 2021). Data was obtained through the retrospective review of medical records. Primary outcomes were admission to the intensive care unit, invasive mechanical ventilation, and death. Patients with HIV and controls were matched for age, sex, number of comorbidities, and hospital of origin using the technique of propensity score matching (up to 4:1). They were compared using the Chi-Square or Fisher's Exact tests for categorical variables and the Wilcoxon for numerical variables. Results: Throughout the study, 17,101 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, and 130 (0.76%) of those were infected with HIV. The median age was 54 (IQR: 43.0;64.0) years in 2020 and 53 (IQR: 46.0;63.5) years in 2021, with a predominance of females in both periods. People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and their controls showed similar prevalence for admission to the ICU and invasive mechanical ventilation requirement in the two periods, with no significant differences. In 2020, in-hospital mortality was higher in the PLHIV compared to the controls (27.9% vs. 17.7%; p = 0.049), but there was no difference in mortality between groups in 2021 (25.0% vs. 25.1%; p > 0.999). Conclusions: Our results reiterate that PLHIV were at higher risk of COVID-19 mortality in the early stages of the pandemic, however, this finding did not sustain in 2021, when the mortality rate is similar to the control group