Vida em rede: conexões, relacionamentos e caminhos para uma nova sociedade

Promover, fomentar e disseminar a produção de conhecimento sobre cultura colaborativa e sobre metodologias do trabalho em rede é parte da nossa pauta, e é nesse espírito que lançamos esta publicação. Para construir seu conteúdo, convidamos cinco especialistas da área, que compartilham conosco, suas descobertas e reflexões sobre esta modalidade inovadora de atuação social

A longitudinal study of environmental tobacco smoke exposure in children: Parental self reports versus age dependent biomarkers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Awareness of the negative effects of smoking on children's health prompted a decrease in the self-reporting of parental tobacco use in periodic surveys from most industrialized countries. Our aim is to assess changes between ETS exposure at the end of pregnancy and at 4 years of age determined by the parents' self-report and measurement of cotinine in age related biological matrices.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The prospective birth cohort included 487 infants from Barcelona city (Spain). Mothers were asked about maternal and household smoking habit. Cord serum and children's urinary cotinine were analyzed in duplicate using a double antibody radioimmunoassay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 4 years of age, the median urinary cotinine level in children increased 1.4 or 3.5 times when father or mother smoked, respectively. Cotinine levels in children's urine statistically differentiated children from smoking mothers (Geometric Mean (GM) 19.7 ng/ml; 95% CI 16.83–23.01) and exposed homes (GM 7.1 ng/ml; 95% CI 5.61–8.99) compared with non-exposed homes (GM 4.5 ng/ml; 95% CI 3.71–5.48). Maternal self-reported ETS exposure in homes declined in the four year span between the two time periods from 42.2% to 31.0% (p < 0.01). Nevertheless, most of the children considered non-exposed by their mothers had detectable levels of cotinine above 1 ng/mL in their urine.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We concluded that cotinine levels determined in cord blood and urine, respectively, were useful for categorizing the children exposed to smoking and showed that a certain increase in ETS exposure during the 4-year follow-up period occurred.</p

A novel therapeutic approach: Blocking Glioblastoma cells’ interaction with their microenvironment

Abstract Due to the highly invasive nature of Glioblastoma (GB), complete surgical resection is not feasible, while motile tumour cells are often associated with several specific brain structures that enhance treatment-resistance. Here, we investigate the therapeutic potential of Disulfiram and Carbenoxolone, that inhibit two distinct interactions between GB and the brain tissue microenvironment: stress-induced cell-matrix adhesion and gap junction mediated cell-cell communication, respectively. Increase in cell numbers of tumour-initiating cells, which are cultured in suspension as cell clusters, and adherent differentiated cells can be blocked to a similar extent by Carbenoxolone, as both cell populations form gap junctions, but the adherent differentiated cells are much more sensitive to Disulfiram treatment, which – via modulation of NF-κB signalling – interferes with cell-substrate adhesion. Interestingly, inducing adhesion in tumour-initiating cells without differentiating them does not sensitize for Disulfiram. Importantly, combining Disulfiram, Carbenoxolone and the standard chemotherapeutic drug Temozolomide reduces tumour size in an orthotopic mouse model. Isolating GB cells from their direct environment within the brain represents an important addition to current therapeutic approaches. The blockage of cellular interactions via the clinically relevant substances Disulfiram and Carbenoxolone, has distinct effects on different cell populations within a tumour, potentially reducing motility and/or resistance to apoptosis

See Hear: Psychological Effects of Music and Music-Video During Treadmill Running

© 2014, The Society of Behavioral Medicine.Background: There is a paucity of work addressing the distractive, affect-enhancing, and motivational influences of music and video in combination during exercise. Purpose: We examined the effects of music and music-and-video on a range of psychological and psychophysical variables during treadmill running at intensities above and below ventilatory threshold (VT). Methods: Participants (N = 24) exercised at 10 % of maximal capacity below VT and 10 % above under music-only, music-and-video, and control conditions. Results: There was a condition × intensity × time interaction for perceived activation and state motivation, and an intensity × time interaction for state attention, perceived exertion (RPE), and affective valence. The music-and-video condition elicited the highest levels of dissociation, lowest RPE, and most positive affective responses regardless of exercise intensity. Conclusions: Attentional manipulations influence psychological and psychophysical variables at exercise intensities above and below VT, and this effect is enhanced by the combined presentation of auditory and visual stimuli

Quantification of ETS exposure in hospitality workers who have never smoked

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) was classified as human carcinogen (K1) by the German Research Council in 1998. According to epidemiological studies, the relative risk especially for lung cancer might be twice as high in persons who have never smoked but who are in the highest exposure category, for example hospitality workers. In order to implement these results in the German regulations on occupational illnesses, a valid method is needed to retrospectively assess the cumulative ETS exposure in the hospitality environment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A literature-based review was carried out to locate a method that can be used for the German hospitality sector. Studies assessing ETS exposure using biological markers (for example urinary cotinine, DNA adducts) or questionnaires were excluded. Biological markers are not considered relevant as they assess exposure only over the last hours, weeks or months. Self-reported exposure based on questionnaires also does not seem adequate for medico-legal purposes. Therefore, retrospective exposure assessment should be based on mathematical models to approximate past exposure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For this purpose a validated model developed by Repace and Lowrey was considered appropriate. It offers the possibility of retrospectively assessing exposure with existing parameters (such as environmental dimensions, average number of smokers, ventilation characteristics and duration of exposure). The relative risk of lung cancer can then be estimated based on the individual cumulative exposure of the worker.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, having adapted it to the German hospitality sector, an existing mathematical model appears to be capable of approximating the cumulative exposure. However, the level of uncertainty of these approximations has to be taken into account, especially for diseases with a long latency period such as lung cancer.</p

A Closer Look at Fe(II) Passivation of Goethite

Our understanding of how Fe(II) reacts with Fe(III) oxides has evolved based on evidence for electron transfer at the oxide-water interface and Fe(II)-catalyzed recrystallization. There is, however, some evidence that these, and other processes, such as microbial reduction, cease after continued contact with Fe(II) as the Fe oxide becomes "passivated". Here, we explore the mechanism of oxide passivation by measuring whether exposure to Fe(II) inhibits Fe(II)-goethite electron transfer, and whether this inhibition is reversible. To quantify the extent of electron transfer, we used selective isotope labeling with Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. We provide experimental evidence that pre-exposure to Fe(II) alters the products formed and inhibits the extent of electron transfer between goethite and Fe(II). We demonstrate that the goethite surface can accumulate a passivation layer of sorbed Fe(II) and that further electron transfer between Fe(II) and goethite is inhibited. Importantly, however, electron transfer can be partially restored upon removal of the layer of Fe(II) by extraction or oxidation. Our results suggest that in environments that are commonly subjected to transient geochemical fluctuations, electron transfer between Fe(II) and Fe oxides, and processes linked to it are likely to be relevant beyond just short time scales. 5