Latex Allergy: Do we need to worry?

Latex allergy is an important health problem in selected population groups, who are called risk groups. Health care workers constitute a risk group, particularly those working in laboratories, nursing, surgeries or anesthesia. The incidence of latex allergy increases with the degree of exposure. The clinical manifestations has great variability and can range from a skin rash to life-threatening reactions. Early recognition of symptoms can avoid severe reactions in the future. Primary preventive measures are the most effective way to reduce sensitization and are responsible for the great reduction in the number of cases at countries that have chosen to exclude latex from medical materials

New trends in teacher\u2019s education. Educational placement of the adopted child

In Italy, the number of adopted school-age children is increasing. According to the Commission of Intercountry Adoption (2013), 3106 children were adopted, 47.5% of them are between 5 and 9 years old. The present action-research aims at exploring the spread of good approaches in schools in terms of welcoming of adopted children. For this purpose, 268 teachers of primary schools were involved in analyzing the social representation about adopted children and their family. The results show a simplified vision of the adoptive family, which is described as heroic family or, on the contrary, as a family with difficulty

Representation of grossone-based arithmetic in simulink for scientific computing

AbstractNumerical computing is a key part of the traditional computer architecture. Almost all traditional computers implement the IEEE 754-1985 binary floating point standard to represent and work with numbers. The architectural limitations of traditional computers make impossible to work with infinite and infinitesimal quantities numerically. This paper is dedicated to the Infinity Computer, a new kind of a supercomputer that allows one to perform numerical computations with finite, infinite, and infinitesimal numbers. The already available software simulator of the Infinity Computer is used in different research domains for solving important real-world problems, where precision represents a key aspect. However, the software simulator is not suitable for solving problems in control theory and dynamics, where visual programming tools like Simulink are used frequently. In this context, the paper presents an innovative solution that allows one to use the Infinity Computer arithmetic within the Simulink environment. It is shown that the proposed solution is user-friendly, general purpose, and domain independent

Evaluación histológica del efecto de enzimas con actividad depilatoria sobre piel vacuna

La industria curtidora genera una variedad de desechos potencialmente tóxicos que dependen del proceso de depilado utilizado. Para atenuar esta contaminación, se desarrollaron sistemas alternativos de depilado, entre ellos el enzimático. En la epidermis, a nivel del estrato corneo, se ubican lípidos que ocupan casi por completo el espacio intercelular entre los queratinocitos y desempeñan un importante papel como barrera hidrofóbica. Esta barrera debe transformarse para permitir el paso de las enzimas depilatorias hacia sus sitios de acción: folículo piloso/pelo y membrana basal. Las estructuras mencionadas deben eliminarse sin dañar el colágeno, proteína determinante de la calidad del cuero. Sobre trozos de piel bovina fueron analizados los efectos de diferentes pretratamientos tendientes a favorecer la penetración de enzimas depilatorias. Se utilizaron tensioactivos y sulfito de sodio como pretratamiento y posteriormente tratamientos con proteasas comerciales, una de origen pancréático y otra alcalina. El control fue tratado con buffer de bicarbonato de sodio. Las muestras se colorearon con Hematoxilina Eosina y Tricrómico de Masson. En los cortes sometidos a acción enzimática se encontraron cambios en el colágeno que podrían alterar la calidad del cuero.Se concluye que el estudio histológico de la piel permite evaluar los cambios que pueden ocasionar los tratamientos que se realizan para convertirla en cuero

Depressão pós-parto: uma análise de fatores predisponentes em mulheres internadas numa maternidade de Boa Vista – RR

Introduction: Depressive disorders (DD) assume the fourth position as determining factors for another diseases. One of the known forms of DD is postpartum depression (PPD), which has a prevalence of 10-20% in the population. Such discrepancy is due to sociocultural differences and study methods. Because there is a shortage of content and studies on the subject, makes eminent the need to emphasize, evaluate and better handle to PPD. Objective: Evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms in women in postpartum period and analyze the clinical-epidemiological profile (socioeconomic, clinical-obstetric and psychosocial factors) of these women. From these data, make an analysis of the predisposing factors possibly involved in the development of postpartum depression (PPD). Methods: Prospective, cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive study, carried out with a total of 60 postpartum women hospitalized at the Maternal Infant Hospital of Our Lady of Nazareth. A questionnaire containing information on the clinical- epidemiological profile was used and, in addition, all participants also answered questions related to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for the identification of depressive symptoms. Results: The presence of women in postpartum period with depressive symptoms according to the EPDS score was 25%. Stress during pregnancy (p 0.009), personal previous depression (p 0.029), and pregnancy denial (p 0.000) showed possible predisposing factors for the development of PPD. Conclusion: The high prevalence of patients identified with possible postpartum depression found in the present study reinforces the need to view PPD as a public health problem in Brazil. EPDS could be used as a screening tool for postpartum women. Prevention and investigation strategies are essential to reduce the prevalence of postpartum disease, which may decrease the direct impact on family relationships, the quality of the relationship between mother and child, and the worsening of symptoms in the medium and long term.Introdução: Os transtornos depressivos (TD) assumem a quarta posição como fatores determinantes para outras doenças. Uma das formas conhecidas de TD é a depressão pós-parto (DPP) que tem prevalência entre 10 a 20% da população. Tal discrepância deve-se a diferenças socioculturais e nos métodos de estudo. Ao passo que a escassez de conteúdo e estudos sobre o tema, torna eminente a necessidade de enfatizar, rastrear e melhor conduzir a DPP. Objetivo: Rastrear a presença de sintomas depressivos em puérperas e analisar o perfil clínico-epidemiológico (fatores socioeconômicos, clínico-obstétricos e psicossociais) dessas mulheres. A partir desses dados, fazer uma análise dos fatores predisponentes possivelmente envolvidos no desenvolvimento da DPP. Métodos: Estudo de corte transversal, prospectivo, de caráter quantitativo e descritivo, realizado com total de 60 puérperas internadas no Hospital Materno Infantil Nossa Senhora de Nazaré. Foi utilizado um questionário contendo informações sobre o perfil clínico-epidemiológico e, além disso, todas as participantes do trabalho também responderam as questões relacionadas à Escala de Depressão Pós-parto de Edimburgo (EPDS) para identificação de sintomas depressivos. Resultados: A presença de puérperas com sintomas depressivos, segundo a pontuação obtida no EPDS, foi de 25%. Estresse durante a gestação (p 0,009), depressão prévia pessoal (p 0,029) e negação à gravidez (p 0,000) mostraram-se possíveis fatores predisponentes para o desenvolvimento da DPP. Conclusão: A alta prevalência de pacientes identificadas com possível depressão pós-parto, encontrada no presente estudo, reforça a necessidade de encarar a DPP como problema de saúde pública no Brasil. A EPDS poderia ser utilizada como ferramenta de rastreio das puérperas. As estratégias de prevenção e investigação tornam-se essenciais para diminuir a prevalência da doença no puerpério, o que poderá diminuir o impacto direto nas relações familiares, na qualidade da relação entre mãe e filho (a) e no agravamento dos sintomas a médio e longo prazo

Metal coordination and peripheral substitution modulate the activity of cyclic tetrapyrroles on αS aggregation: A structural and cell-based study.

The discovery of aggregation inhibitors and the elucidation of their mechanism of action are key in the quest to mitigate the toxic consequences of amyloid formation. We have previously characterized the antiamyloidogenic mechanism of action of sodium phtalocyanine tetrasulfonate ([Na4(H2PcTS)]) on α-Synuclein (αS), demonstrating that specific aromatic interactions are fundamental for the inhibition of amyloid assembly. Here we studied the influence that metal preferential affinity and peripheral substituents may have on the activity of tetrapyrrolic compounds on αS aggregation. For the first time, our laboratory has extended the studies in the field of the bioinorganic chemistry and biophysics to cellular biology, using a well-established cell-based model to study αS aggregation. The interaction scenario described in our work revealed that both N- and C-terminal regions of αS represent binding interfaces for the studied compounds, a behavior that is mainly driven by the presence of negatively or positively charged substituents located at the periphery of the macrocycle. Binding modes of the tetrapyrrole ligands to αS are determined by the planarity and hydrophobicity of the aromatic ring system in the tetrapyrrolic molecule and/or the preferential affinity of the metal ion conjugated at the center of the macrocyclic ring. The different capability of phthalocyanines and meso-tetra (N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphine tetrachloride ([H2PrTPCl4]) to modulate αS aggregation in vitro was reproduced in cell-based models of αS aggregation, demonstrating unequivocally that the modulation exerted by these compounds on amyloid assembly is a direct consequence of their interaction with the target protein

La identidad relacional y el principio de solidaridad como bases para la educación intercultural

Una vez constatado el fracaso del multiculturalismo y de todas sus variantes teórico-prácticas para el estudio, análisis y manejo de la complejidad y diversidad sociales, surge la necesidad de plantear la interculturalidad como la única alternativa lógica para la integración de todas las personas en la sociedad. Todo ello sobre la base de una nueva noción de identidad que sea capaz de respetar, aceptar e integrar las diferencias conservando además las diversas identidades culturales. En este sentido, el enfoque relacional demuestra ser el único capaz de aportar todo un cuerpo teórico y un nuevo paradigma interpretativo para el análisis y entendimiento de lo que ha supuesto la creciente heterogeneidad de las sociedades modernas y sus repercusiones en el ámbito de la diversidad. Más allá del funcionalismo estructuralista, Donati propone una nueva noción de identidad relacional y el principio de solidaridad como bases para la interculturalidad en la nueva ciudadanía societaria enormemente compleja y diferenciada que emerge en las sociedades actuales

Optical properties of wurtzite GaN/AlN quantum dots grown on non-polar planes: the effect of stacking faults in the reduction of the internal electric field

The optical emission of non-polar GaN/AlN quantum dots has been investigated. The presence of stacking faults inside these quantum dots is evidenced in the dependence of the photoluminescence with temperature and excitation power. A theoretical model for the electronic structure and optical properties of non-polar quantum dots, taking into account their realistic shapes, is presented which predicts a substantial reduction of the internal electric field but a persisting quantum confined Stark effect, comparable to that of polar GaN/AlN quantum dots. Modeling the effect of a 3 monolayer stacking fault inside the quantum dot, which acts as zinc-blende inclusion into the wurtzite matrix, results in an additional 30% reduction of the internal electric field and gives a better account of the observed optical features

Digital pathology evaluation of complement C4d component deposition in the kidney allograft biopsies is a useful tool to improve reproducibility of the scoring

Complement C4d component deposition in kidney allograft biopsies is an established marker of antibody-mediated rejection. In the Banff 07 classification of renal allograft pathology, semi-quantitative evaluation of the proportion of C4d-positive peritubular capilaries (PTC) is used. We aimed to explore the potential of digital pathology tools to obtain quantitative and reproducible measure of C4d deposition in the renal allograft tissue