Albumin/asparaginase capsules prepared by ultrasound to retain ammonia

"Published online: 17 June 2016"Asparaginase reduces the levels of asparagine in blood, which is an essential amino acid for the proliferation of lymphoblastic malign cells. Asparaginase converts asparagine into aspartic acid and ammonia. The accumulation of ammonia in the bloodstream leads to hyperammonemia, described as one of the most significant side effects of asparaginase therapy. Therefore, there is a need for asparaginase formulations with the potential to reduce hyperammonemia. We incorporated 2 % of therapeutic enzyme in albumin-based capsules. The presence of asparaginase in the interface of bovine serum albumin (BSA) capsules showed the ability to hydrolyze the asparagine and retain the forming ammonia at the surface of the capsules. The incorporation of Poloxamer 407 in the capsule formulation further increased the ratio aspartic acid/ammonia from 1.92 to 2.46 (and 1.10 from the free enzyme), decreasing the levels of free ammonia. This capacity to retain ammonia can be due to electrostatic interactions and retention of ammonia at the surface of the capsules. The developed BSA/asparaginase capsules did not cause significant cytotoxic effect on mouse leukemic macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. The new BSA/asparaginase capsules could potentially be used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia preventing hyperammonemia associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment with asparaginase.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - SFRH\BPD\98388\2013 ; UID/BIO/04469/2013 ; UID/BIA/04050/2013COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684

Guidelines for studying diverse types of compound weather and climate events

Compound weather and climate events are combinations of climate drivers and/or hazards that contribute to societal or environmental risk. Studying compound events often requires a multidisciplinary approach combining domain knowledge of the underlying processes with, for example, statistical methods and climate model outputs. Recently, to aid the development of research on compound events, four compound event types were introduced, namely (1) preconditioned, (2) multivariate, (3) temporally compounding, and (4) spatially compounding events. However, guidelines on how to study these types of events are still lacking. Here, we consider four case studies, each associated with a specific event type and a research question, to illustrate how the key elements of compound events (e.g., analytical tools and relevant physical effects) can be identified. These case studies show that (1) impacts on crops from hot and dry summers can be exacerbated by preconditioning effects of dry and bright springs. (2) Assessing compound coastal flooding in Perth (Australia) requires considering the dynamics of a non-stationary multivariate process. For instance, future mean sea-level rise will lead to the emergence of concurrent coastal and fluvial extremes, enhancing compound flooding risk. (3) In Portugal, deep-landslides are often caused by temporal clusters of moderate precipitation events. Finally, (4) crop yield failures in France and Germany are strongly correlated, threatening European food security through spatially compounding effects. These analyses allow for identifying general recommendations for studying compound events. Overall, our insights can serve as a blueprint for compound event analysis across disciplines and sectors

Análise das redes interpessoais: aplicação na realidade de uma equipe de enfermagem atuando em unidade de hematologia

A equipe de Enfermagem do Serviço de Hematologia depara-se constantemente com situações de sofrimento intenso, podendo afetar sua homeostase. Considerando o postulado acerca da tendência à atualização do ser humano, as redes interpessoais podem ser benéficas, disponibilizando suportes para atualização da pessoa, que passa a transformar sua energia em comportamento útil, favorecendo o desempenho de funções e promovendo saúde. Este estudo foi realizado sobre a metodologia de análise das redes sociais, com o objetivo de analisar a rede interpessoal dos componentes de uma equipe de Enfermagem, que atua em unidade de hematologia de um hospital-escola na cidade de Fortaleza-CE. Foi realizado no ano de 2009, com 10 informantes-chaves. Os dados foram coletados no questionário gerador de nomes e qualificador da relação, processados nos programas: UCINET 6.123 e NETDRAW 2.38. O emprego da metodologia de análise de redes sociais permitiu reunir elementos elucidativos acerca da estrutura do grupo, sendo possível, a partir daí, tecer considerações acerca da posição ocupada pelos indivíduos, bem como do núcleo de relações constituído ao redor de cada um.The nursing team of the Hematology Service are constantly facing situations of intense suffering and this can affect their homeostasis. Considering the premise according to which human beings tend to upgrade themselves, interpersonal networks may be beneficial, providing support so that the person can upgrade herself, and starts to transform her energy into useful behavior, favoring the performance of duties and promoting health. This study employed the methodology of Social Network Analysis, and it aimed to analyze the interpersonal network of the members of a nursing team that work in the hematology unit of a hospital-school in the city of Fortaleza, Northeastern Brazil. The study was conducted in 2006, with ten key informants. Data were collected through a questionnaire that generates names and evaluates the relationship, and were processed by the programs: UCINET 6.123 and NETDRAW 2.38. The use of Social Network Analysis enabled us to learn about the structure of the group. Based on this, it was possible to make considerations about the position occupied by the individuals and about the nucleus of relationships constituted around each one of them

Conhecimentos sobre prevenção da SIDA entre profissionais e acadêmicos da área de saúde

Este estudo exploratório foi realizado pelas alunas e alunos da Disciplina de Enfermagem nas Doenças Transmissíveis. Foram analisadas as respostas de 52 questionários distribuídos entre acadêmicos de enfermagem, de medicina, médicos, dentistas, enfermeiros e auxiliares de enfermagem que assistem pacientes com SIDA e enfermeiros que não assistem pacientes com SIDA. Estes questionários versaram sobre medidas de prevenção da transmissão sexual, normal de biossegurança, testes diagnósticos, direitos do paciente e do trabalhador e alterações no atendimento aos portadores desta patologia.This work is a exploratory research based on the analysis of the answers to the questionaires of 52 students and health care professionals knowledge about AIDS sexual prevention, biossecurity, diagnosis tests, patients and workers rights and the modifications of nursing and medica/ care to this kind of diseaseTrata se de un estudio exploratório acerca del conocimiento de la prevención de la SIDA, normas de seguridad biológica, pruebas diagnósticas, derechos de /os enfermos y trabajadores con SIDA y de esa mfermedad. Fueron analizados las respuestas de 52 cuestionários de estudientes de enfermería, nédicos, odontólogos, enfermeras y ajudantes de enfermería

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe