Effect of an extract of Centella asiatica on the biodistribution of sodium pertechnetate (Na^99mTcO₄) and on the fixation of radioactivity on blood constituents

This study evaluates the effects of an acute treatment with a Centella asiatica (CA) extract on the biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical Na99mTcO4 and on the fixation of technetium-99m on blood constituents. Wistar rats were treated with CA extract and, 1 hour after, Na99mTcO4 was administered; organs/tissues were withdrawn and weighted. The radioactivity was counted to calculate the percentage of activity per gram (%ATI/g). Also, blood samples were withdrawn, plasma (P), blood cells (BC), insoluble fraction (IF) and soluble fractions of P and BC were isolated and the radioactivity was counted to calculate the percentage of activity (%ATI). Data indicated that the acute treatment with CA extract changed significantly (p99mTcO4 and the fixation of the technetium-99m on blood constituents in an acute treatment

Waste-to-energy technology for the brazilian context: a review article

Waste-to-Energy Technologies (WtE) have been widely used in European countries, in Japan, in some US cities, and have been growing in China. Currently, in Brazil, there are no WtE power plants in operation, but there are studies on the feasibility of this technology. The Systematic Bibliographic Review (SBR) presented in this mini-review article appears as a result of a process of prospecting documents in the following databases: Science Direct, Web of Science and Scopus. The purpose was to map the articles of the last five years on the applications of WtE technologies in Brazil. From the selection of articles relevant to the research, these documents were registered and cataloged, as well as their qualitative and quantitative analyses. During the systematization process, it was possible to raise hypotheses about which professionals have been working the most on this topic, the journals in which these researches are being published and the keywords most addressed for these case studies. In addition, it was possible to identify the characteristics of the publications related to the theme, the central axes of analysis of the studies and the primary techniques studied for the Brazilian reality. It was also considered part of the results of the present work, the systematization of the main definitions of WtE, the presentation of the main WtE technologies operations, and the exposition of the benefits and impacts of each of these technologies

Polymeric micelles containing resveratrol: development, characterization, cytotoxicity on tumor cells and antimicrobial activity

Antimicrobial and antitumor activities of resveratrol, a compound found mainly in grapes, have already been demonstrated. However, its low bioavailability is a limiting factor for therapeutic application. Polymeric micelles can be an approach to solve this problem since they can encapsulate hydrophobic substances. We developed and characterized micellar formulations containing resveratrol and evaluated their cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects. The formulations were prepared by the cold dispersion method with different concentrations of F127 (5 or 10% w/w) and resveratrol (500 or 5000 µM). The formulations were characterized according to size, polydispersity index, pH, encapsulation rate and in vitro release. Cytotoxic effect was evaluated on a bladder cancer cell line and antimicrobial effect was evaluated on E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans. One of the formulations (10% w/w of F127 and 5000 µM of resveratrol) was a monodispersed solution with high encapsulation rate, thus it was chosen for the cytotoxicity and antimicrobial assays. MS10+RES-3 was able to preserve the antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of resveratrol. This is the first study that evaluated antimicrobial potential and cytotoxicity of micelles containing resveratrol on bladder cancer cells and the results showed that micellar nanostructures could ensure the maintenance of the biological activity of resveratrol

Exposure to potentially inappropriate medications in Brazilian elderly outpatients with metabolic diseases

Management of pharmacotherapy in elderly with metabolic diseases is challenging and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are risk factors for drug interactions and adverse events. The exposure to PIMs in elderly outpatients with metabolic diseases and its relationship with polypharmacy and other variables was investigated. PIMs prescribed to 207 elderly patients (aged 60 to 96 years) with metabolic diseases who attended a University Hospital of Sao Paulo city, Brazil, from April/2010 to January/2011, were evaluated. PIMs were detected using both 2003 Beers and 2008 STOPP criteria. The association between PIMs and age, gender and polypharmacy was also examined. 2008 STOPP criteria detected more PIMs (44.4 %) than 2003 Beers criteria (16.0%,

Retinoblastoma in a pediatric oncology reference center in southern brazil

Background: Retinoblastoma (Rb) is the most common intraocular tumor diagnosed in children in Brazil. However, detailed information is lacking regarding patient clinical demographics. This study aimed to determine the clinical profile of patients with Rb who were treated in a public university hospital in southern Brazil from 1983 to 2012. Methods: Patients’ medical records were reviewed to retrospectively identify patients with a principal diagnosis of Rb. Rb was classified as hereditary or non-hereditary. Clinical staging was reviewed by an ophthalmologist. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. Results: Of 165 patients with a diagnosis of Rb during this period, 140 were included in the study. Disease was unilateral in 65.0 % of patients, bilateral in 32.9 %, and trilateral in 2.1 %. The mean age at onset of the first sign/ symptom was 18.1 month, and 35.7 % of patients were diagnosed during the first year of life. The most common presenting signs were leukocoria (73.6 %) and strabismus (20.7 %). The mean age at diagnosis was 23.5 months, and time to diagnosis was 5.4 months. In patients with clinical features of hereditary Rb, both onset of the first sign/symptom and diagnosis were at an earlier age than in patients without these features (12.3 vs 21.6 months [P = 0.001] and 15.9 vs 28.0 months [P < 0.001], respectively). However, there was no significant difference in overall survival between the two groups. Ocular stage at diagnosis was advanced in 76.5 % (Reese V) and 78.1 % (International Classification D or E). Of patients with unilateral and bilateral disease, 35.2 % and 34.8 %, respectively, had extraocular disease at diagnosis; 10.7 % had metastatic disease at diagnosis. Enucleation was observed in 88.1 % and exenteration in 11.9 % of patients; 93.6 % patients were followed until 2012, and 22.9 % relapsed. Overall survival was 86.4 %. Conclusions: Most Rb diagnoses are still diagnosed in advanced stages of the disease, considerably reducing overall survival time and the rate of eye and vision preservation

Roads of the Caribbean: regional analysis from Environmental Impact Assessments in Colombia

The road infrastructure produces several impacts on the environment. In the Colombian Caribbean region, the growing road infrastructure threatens systems equilibrium in diverse and not well-known ways. Despite the several administrative tools available in Colombian legislation to manage every project impact, the big picture of the interconnected regional ecosystems falls out of scope. To study the large-scale problems in landscape, we analyzed eight Environmental Impact Studies of road construction projects in the region. We did a scientific and institutional literature review to shed light on the possible unseen problems and future challenges. Results suggest that Environmental Impact Assessments for each project focus on construction processes, ignore accumulative and residual effects, and use typified measures to cover a broad set of impacts. We offer recommendations from an integrated analysis perspective for future projects to understand landscape and water systems alteration at the regional scale

Resultados da terapia dupla (interferon e ribavirina) para hepatite C em um centro de referência no sul do Brasil: um estudo da vida real

Introdução: A Hepatite C tem uma prevalência estimada em cerca de 170 milhões de pessoas mundialmente e cursa com grande morbimortalidade. O tratamento deste vírus tem se alterado significativamente nos últimos anos, porém, no Brasil, ainda imperam os tratamentos baseados em interferon convencional ou interferon-peguilado associado à ribavirina.Métodos: estudo de coorte, retrospectivo, conduzido no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Foram incluídos 237 pacientes com Hepatite C tratados com interferon e ribavirina ou interferon-peguilado e ribavirinaResultados: A taxa global de resposta virológica sustentada obtida foi de 33,33%, sendo 37,93% nos pacientes com regime baseado no interferon convencional e 32,69% nos com interferon-peguilado. A análise demonstrou uma maior taxa de resposta virológica sustentada entre os pacientes que apresentaram, à análise genética, expressão CC do polimorfismo da IL 28B.Palavras-chave: Hepatite C; interferon; resposta virológica sustentad

Resultados da terapia dupla (interferon e ribavirina) para hepatite C em um centro de referência no sul do Brasil: um estudo da vida real

Introdução: A Hepatite C tem uma prevalência estimada em cerca de 170 milhões de pessoas mundialmente e cursa com grande morbimortalidade. O tratamento deste vírus tem se alterado significativamente nos últimos anos, porém, no Brasil, ainda imperam os tratamentos baseados em interferon convencional ou interferon-peguilado associado à ribavirina. Métodos: estudo de coorte, retrospectivo, conduzido no Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Foram incluídos 237 pacientes com Hepatite C tratados com interferon e ribavirina ou interferon-peguilado e ribavirina Resultados: A taxa global de resposta virológica sustentada obtida foi de 33,33%, sendo 37,93% nos pacientes com regime baseado no interferon convencional e 32,69% nos com interferon-peguilado. A análise demonstrou uma maior taxa de resposta virológica sustentada entre os pacientes que apresentaram, à análise genética, expressão CC do polimorfismo da IL 28B. Palavras-chave: Hepatite C; interferon; resposta virológica sustentad