Mast cell concentration and skin wound contraction in rats treated with Brazilian pepper essential oil (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi)

PURPOSE: To evaluate wound contraction and the concentration of mast cells in skin wounds treated with 5% BPT essential oil-based ointment in rats. METHODS: Twenty rats, male, of adult age, were submitted to skin surgery on the right (RA) and left antimeres (LA) of the thoracic region. They were divided into two groups: control (RA - wounds receiving daily topical application of vaseline and lanolin) and treated (LA - wounds treated daily with the topical ointment). The skin region with wounds were collected at days 4, 7, 14 and 21 after surgery. Those were fixed in 10% formaldehyde and later processed for paraffin embedding. Sections were obtained and stained by H.E for histopathology analysis. The degree of epithelial contraction was measured and mast cell concentration were also evaluated. RESULTS: The treated group showed higher mast cell concentrations (p<0.05) associated with increased contraction at day 7 and 14 respectively. CONCLUSION: Ointment containing 5% Brazilian pepper tree oil increases mast cell concentration and promotes skin wound contraction in rats.UFRPEUNIFESPUFMGUNESPUNES

Co-circulation of Chikungunya Virus during the 2015–2017 Zika Virus Outbreak in Pernambuco, Brazil: An Analysis of the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Pregnancy Cohort

Co-circulation of arthropod-borne viruses, particularly those with shared mosquito vectors like Zika (ZIKV) and Chikungunya (CHIKV), is increasingly reported. An accurate differential diagnosis between ZIKV and CHIKV is of high clinical importance, especially in the context of pregnancy, but remains challenging due to limitations in the availability of specialized laboratory testing facilities. Using data collected from the prospective pregnancy cohort study of the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group, which followed up pregnant persons with rash during the peak and decline of the 2015–2017 ZIKV epidemic in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, this study aims to describe the geographic and temporal distribution of ZIKV and CHIKV infections and to investigate the extent to which ZIKV and CHIKV infections may be clinically differentiable. Between December 2015 and June 2017, we observed evidence of co-circulation with laboratory confirmation of 213 ZIKV mono-infections, 55 CHIKV mono-infections, and 58 sequential ZIKV/CHIKV infections (i.e., cases with evidence of acute ZIKV infection with concomitant serological evidence of recent CHIKV infection). In logistic regressions with adjustment for maternal age, ZIKV mono-infected cases had lower odds than CHIKV mono-infected cases of presenting with arthralgia (aOR, 99% CI: 0.33, 0.15–0.74), arthritis (0.35, 0.14–0.85), fatigue (0.40, 0.17–0.96), and headache (0.44, 0.19–1.00). However, sequential ZIKV/CHIKV infections complicated discrimination, as they did not significantly differ in clinical presentation from CHIKV mono-infections. These findings suggest clinical symptoms alone may be insufficient for differentiating between ZIKV and CHIKV infections during pregnancy and therefore laboratory diagnostics continue to be a valuable tool for tailoring care in the event of arboviral co-circulation

Reflexões sobre avaliação de políticas de saúde no Brasil

O presente texto tem como objetivo trazer contribuições para o debate sobre a avaliação de políticas públicas, especificamente no que concerne ao setor saúde no Brasil. Busca-se apresentar e tematizar algumas das questões fundamentais que perpassam esse campo de estudo, mediante o levantamento ou revisão bibliográfica sobre avaliação de políticas no setor saúde numa conceituada e reconhecida base de dados, o SciELO. Foram selecionados 66 artigos com os descritores "Avaliação em Saúde" e "Avaliação de Programas e Projetos de Saúde", de publicações brasileiras indexadas na área da saúde coletiva, desde o ano de 1994 até o ano de 2009. O artigo explora aspectos da produção acadêmica numa tipologia estabelecida e em correlação com as possibilidades de desenvolvimento do tema da avaliação de políticas, articulado a intervenções voltadas para o enfrentamento eficaz, eficiente e efetivo de agravos da população

Interbasin Water Transfers: The Brazilian Experience and International Case Comparisons

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)This paper critically examines Brazil's transbasin diversion experiences and two select, large-scale transbasin projects outside of Brazil. Rather than simply compare Brazil's experiences with international cases, the authors explore the historical context of the projects, focusing on the water resources and environmental regulatory and institutional frameworks in place during the initial proposals and how they influenced the projects' development and completion rates. Huge investments, the lengthy time span between the date of the initial project proposals and the start of construction, the need to garner public and political support, and more recently, the need to fulfill national and regional environmental laws are major factors underlying heated public debates about the proposed projects. After a broad discussion about the subject, the authors examine a recently approved large-scale Brazilian project, the Sao Francisco river transbasin diversion. This river diversion project is considered crucial to the economic development of Brazil's semi-arid northeastern region. Despite the fact that this government-funded project was debated for several decades among the various stakeholders, it was approved under Brazil's newly formed water resources regulatory and environmental framework, which enabled improvements in various key technical aspects of the project, and greater involvement of various key social players.25819151934Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESP [2008/58508-1

Brazilian cachaca: "Single shot" typification of fresh alembic and industrial samples via electrospray ionization mass spectrometry fingerprinting

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Copper pot stills (alembics) and industrial stainless steel columns are the most common distillation devices used in Brazil to produce sugarcane spirit (cachaca). The use of both apparatus originates two distinctive products, the so-called (a) alembic (the most valuable) and (b) industrial cachacas, respectively, with subtle but characteristic chemical compositions and sensorial properties. Herein, we demonstrate that the use of direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the negative mode, ESI(-)-MS, is able to provide fast "single shot" fingerprinting discrimination between these two types of spirits. Representative samples of both spirits show ESI(-)-MS with regular sets of diagnostic ions of m/z 279, 255, 199, 171, 143 (alembic) and of m/z 377, 341 (industrial). Principal component analysis (PCA) of the ESI(-)-MS data consistently split the 34 alembic and the 14 industrial samples into two well-defined groups. Sugar addition to the alembic samples was also easily detected. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.115310641068Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP