Radiotherapy, cancer and some anatomical structures related with the pelvic floor: an evaluation of the scientific literature

Radiotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy X-rays or other types of ionizing radiation to try to kill the cancer cells in various organs/tissues. PubMed is a database used as a tool in various publications. The aim of this work was to evaluate, in the PubMed, the number of publications (NP) in radiotherapy and cancer in various organs related to the pelvic floor as well as brachytherapy. The searches were performed (August 2008) in the PubMed (http://www.pubmed.com) using the words: (i) radiotherapy (RT) or cancer (CA), (ii) RT and CA, (iii) RT and CA and prostate, RT and CA and testis, RT and CA and breast, RT and CA and kidneys, RT and CA and vulva, RT and CA and vagina, RT and CA and penis, RT and CA and uterus, RT and CA and ovary, RT and CA and bladder, and RT and CA and urethra. A search using brachytherapy was also performed. The NP in each subject was determined and was 2178635 to CA and about 9% of them are related with RT. The NP in RT and CA and breast or prostate is bigger than for the other organs, whereas brachytherapy is mainly cited in the studies about CA of prostate, bladder and breast. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate the importance of radiation therapy studies in the cancer of several organs. This information is crucial in understanding the field and demonstrates areas of significant progress or existing gaps of research in radiotherapy treatment of various cancers of the pelvis. Furthermore, it could significantly aid the interprofessional team in the determination of actions related to the treatment of patients that are undertaking radiotherapy, due to the possible complications of this modality of treatment

Effects of consumption of galactooligosaccharides obtained through whey enzymatically modified on the faecal flora and nutritional parameters of hamsters

The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of wheyenzymatically modified rich in galactooligosaccharides in thenutritional characteristics and effects in the microflora of cecumcontents by the study with Golden Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetusauratus) for 28 days (controlled conditions). Three isoproteic dietswere prepared (20% w/w): C (casein), W (whey) and G (wheymodified). The groups studied differed positively from the C regardingfeed and protein efficiency ratio. The relationships (w/w) oforgan/body were found proportional in all diets. The counts ofprobiotics from the cecum contents the groups showed no difference.The pHs of studied groups were lower than C, this acidity can atimpairs the ability of pathogens to grow in the intestine. Resultssuggest that using whey enzymatically modified rich ingalactooligosaccharides could replace the standard diet withnutritional efficiency and possible inhibit the microorganismspathogenic without induce damage in health.Fil: Dos Santos Da Fonseca, Renata Aline. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Rodrigues Machado, Adriana. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande; BrasilFil: Muniz Moreira, Lidiane. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande; BrasilFil: Rodrigues, Rosane S.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Machado, Mirian. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Souza Soares, Leonor A.. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande; BrasilFil: Burkert, Carlos André V.. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande; BrasilFil: Burkert, Janaína Fernandes de Medeiros. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande; Brasi

Segmentation of optical remote sensing images for detecting homogeneous regions in space and time.

With the amount of multitemporal and multiresolution images growing exponentially, the number of image segmentation applications is recently increasing and, simultaneously, new challenges arise. Hence, there is a need to explore new segmentation concepts and techniques that make use of the temporal dimension. This paper describes a spatio-temporal segmentation that adapts the traditional region growing technique to detect homogeneous regions in space and time in optical remote sensing images. Tests were conducted by considering the Dynamic Time Warping measure as the homogeneity criterion. Study cases on high temporal resolution for sequences of MODIS and Landsat-8 OLI vegetation indices products provided satisfactory outputs and demonstrated the potential of the spatio-temporal segmentation method.Também publicado na Revista Brasileira de Cartografia, v. 70, n. 5, p. 1779-1801, 2018. Special Issue XIX Brazilian Syposium on GeoInformatics, 2018. DOI: 10.14393/rbcv70n5-45227

Cellulolytic ability of Penicillium strains isolated from soil of the Brazilian Atlantic forest

Penicillium spp. are capable of degrading plant wastes by producing large amounts of enzymes such as cellulases. These form a complex capable of acting on cellulosic materials and producing sugars with industrial interest (e.g., ethanol production). Cellulases are also used for (a) pulp and paper industry (b) in the textile industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cellulolytic capability of 17 strains of Penicillium isolated from soil of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and conserved under mineral oil at the URM Culture Collection. All strains were re-grown from mineral oil and re-identifiied. Each strain was grown in synthetic medium with carboxymethylcellulose as the carbon source and incubated for 5 days at 28°C. Strains were subjected to heat shock for 16h at 50°C. Thereafter, onto each colony was added 5 ml of Congo red stain solution in Tris-HCl. After 30 min this solution was removed and the cultures were washed and submerged under 0.1 M NaCl aqueous solution for 5 min. Finally, an enzymatic index was calculated from the ratio of the diameter of the halo around each colony to the diameter of the colony. All of the 17 strains tested showed a halo of cellulose degradation, indicating enzyme production. The enzymatic ratios varied between 0.2 (Penicillium brevicompactum URM5994) and 3.3 (Penicillium glabrum URM6009). Thus, Penicillium glabrum URM6009 is evaluated as a high producer of cellulase. It was selected for quantitative production of this enzyme and additional studies are taking place in order to verify potential industrial application for clarification of fruit juices

Aging increases susceptibility to high fat diet-induced metabolic syndrome in C57BL/6 mice: Improvement in glycemic and lipid profile after antioxidant therapy

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been considered a novel component of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), with the oxidative stress participating in its progression. This study aimed to evaluate the metabolic profile in young and old mice with MetS, and the effects of apocynin and tempol on glycemic and lipid parameters. Young and old C57BL/6 mice with high fat diet- (HFD-) induced MetS received apocynin and tempol 50 mg·kg(-1)/day in their drinking water for 10 weeks. After HFD, the young group showed elevated fasting glucose, worsened lipid profile in plasma, steatosis, and hepatic lipid peroxidation. Nevertheless, the old group presented significant increase in fasting insulin levels, insulin resistance, plasma and hepatic lipid peroxidation, and pronounced steatosis. The hepatic superoxide dismutase and catalase activity did not differ between the groups. Tempol and apocynin seemed to prevent hepatic lipid deposition in both groups. Furthermore, apocynin improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in old mice. In summary, old mice are more susceptible to HFD-induced metabolic changes than their young counterparts. Also, the antioxidant therapy improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, and in addition, apocynin seemed to prevent the HFD-induced hepatic fat deposition, suggesting an important role of oxidative stress in the induction of NAFLD