Projeto Parceiros da Criança: a experiência da formação de educadores na comunidade de Heliópolis , São Paulo

This article presents the process of formation of local educators for a non-formal educational project at the community of Heliópolis, São Paulo, from 2002 to 2005. Structured as a place for education complementary to the regular school, aimed at 260 children and adolescents (age range from 7 to 14 years-old), the project’s main goal was to stimulate and strengthen the access to culture and education as a cultural good. The activities developed through thematic workshops, sports and leisure, cultural and recreational excursions, and study guidance were created based on planning involving educators and local leaderships, as well as professors and students of the São Marcos University, all of them with the support of the Instituto GM. Oriented by the parameters of collective and interdisciplinary work, the actions were focused on the development of attitude, competences and abilities for the educational planning, centered on autonomy and on the reflection about every day problems, causing relationships to strengthen and allowing the valorization of knowledge and local empowerment.Este artigo apresenta o processo de formação de educadores locais de um projeto de educação não formal da comunidade do Heliópolis, São Paulo, no período de 2002 a 2005. O projeto estruturado como um espaço de educação complementar à escola para o atendimento de 260 crianças e jovens de 7 a 14 anos tinha como objetivo estimular e fortalecer o acesso à cultura e à educação como um bem cultural. As atividades desenvolvidas por meio de oficinas temáticas, de esportes, de atividades culturais e de orientação de estudos eram criadas a partir de momentos de planejamento, que envolviam, de um lado, educadores e dirigentes locais, e de outro, professores e alunos da Universidade São Marcos, com apoio do Instituto GM. Orientadas pelas diretrizes do trabalho coletivo e interdisciplina, as ações se voltaram ao desenvolvimento de atitudes, de competências e de habilidades para o planejamento educacional com foco na reflexão sobre problemas do cotidiano, fortalecendo as relações e propiciando o ganho de autonomia, a valorização do conhecimento e o empoderamento local

Biotin levels in blood and follicular fluid

It has been shown that biotin, a water-soluble vitamin (B7), plays roles in reproductive functions, such as oocyte maturation and embryo development, in experimental animals. On the other hand, little is known about the clinical effects of biotin on human reproduction. In this study, serum and follicular fluid biotin levels were measured in patients who underwent in vitro fertilization / intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF / ICSI), and their associations with reproductive outcomes were evaluated. As a result, biotin was detected in follicular fluid, as well as serum, and the biotin levels of follicular fluid were found to be positively correlated with those of serum. The biotin levels of serum were higher than those of follicular fluid, suggesting that biotin may be taken up into the follicular fluid from the blood. Although serum and follicular fluid biotin levels tended to be higher in pregnant patients than in non-pregnant patients, these data did not show the significant statistical difference. These findings indicate that biotin does not contribute to the maintenance of oocyte quality, and hence, it does not increase fertilization and pregnancy rates

Sugar Scrub Effects on Skin Barrier Function and Heat Retention in Low Birth Weight Infants

Objective: This investigation sought to compare changes in body heat after using a sugar scrub to bathe lowbirth weight infants (< 2,500 g), compared with those bathed using conventional baby soap, and to evaluatethe relationship between skin barrier function and changes in body heat.Design: Non-Randomized clinical trialsSetting: A neonatal intensive care unit in a university hospital in JapanParticipants: 22 Low birth weight infants for whom bathing was permittedMethods: Sebum quantity and skin temperature were each measured before and after bathing for a control groupbathed with conventional baby soap and a group bathed with a sugar scrub skin care product. Ethical approvalfor this study was obtained from Aino university of Ethics committee review board (Approval number/27)Results: The results demonstrated that both sebum quantity and skin temperature increased significantly afterbathing in the sugar scrub group compared with the baby soap group.Conclusion: Increases in sebum quantity are thought to influence the normal barrier function of skin and to helpretain skin temperature. This study suggests that the use of this skin care product can be expected to effectivelyhelp maintain body temperature in low birth weight infants, who are prone to low body temperature

Use of the index of pulmonary vascular disease for predicting long-term outcome of pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease

AimsLimited data exist on risk factors for the long-term outcome of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with congenital heart disease (CHD-PAH). We focused on the index of pulmonary vascular disease (IPVD), an assessment system for pulmonary artery pathology specimens. The IPVD classifies pulmonary vascular lesions into four categories based on severity: (1) no intimal thickening, (2) cellular thickening of the intima, (3) fibrous thickening of the intima, and (4) destruction of the tunica media, with the overall grade expressed as an additive mean of these scores. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between IPVD and the long-term outcome of CHD-PAH.MethodsThis retrospective study examined lung pathology images of 764 patients with CHD-PAH aged &lt;20 years whose lung specimens were submitted to the Japanese Research Institute of Pulmonary Vasculature for pulmonary pathological review between 2001 and 2020. Clinical information was collected retrospectively by each attending physician. The primary endpoint was cardiovascular death.ResultsThe 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year cardiovascular death-free survival rates for all patients were 92.0%, 90.4%, 87.3%, and 86.1%, respectively. The group with an IPVD of ≥2.0 had significantly poorer survival than the group with an IPVD &lt;2.0 (P = .037). The Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for the presence of congenital anomaly syndromes associated with pulmonary hypertension, and age at lung biopsy showed similar results (hazard ratio 4.46; 95% confidence interval: 1.45–13.73; P = .009).ConclusionsThe IPVD scoring system is useful for predicting the long-term outcome of CHD-PAH. For patients with an IPVD of ≥2.0, treatment strategies, including choosing palliative procedures such as pulmonary artery banding to restrict pulmonary blood flow and postponement of intracardiac repair, should be more carefully considered

Effect of itraconazole and fluconazole on the pharmacokinetics of valemetostat: An open‐label, phase I study in healthy subjects

Abstract Valemetostat tosylate (valemetostat) is an oral, potent, dual inhibitor of enhancer of zeste homolog (EZH) 2 and EZH1 under investigation for the treatment of cancer, including non‐Hodgkin's lymphomas and solid tumors. Itraconazole and fluconazole are antifungal medications often used as typical inhibitors of cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A [itraconazole and fluconazole]) and P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp [itraconazole]) in drug–drug interaction studies. Valemetostat is a substrate of CYP3A and P‐gp in vitro. This phase I, open‐label, single‐sequence crossover study (JapicCTI‐183902) assessed the pharmacokinetics (PK) of valemetostat when co‐administered with itraconazole (a strong CYP3A inhibitor and P‐gp inhibitor) or fluconazole (a moderate CYP3A inhibitor) in healthy Japanese male participants 20–45 years of age. Participants were equally allocated to receive two doses of valemetostat 25 mg, once alone and once with either itraconazole or fluconazole (400‐mg induction and 200‐mg once daily maintenance). Valemetostat PK parameters with versus without itraconazole or fluconazole were compared using analysis of variance models. Overall, 32 participants were enrolled. Co‐administration with itraconazole increased valemetostat peak concentration (Cmax) by 2.9‐fold and area under the plasma concentration–time curve extrapolated to infinity (AUCinf) by 4.2‐fold compared with valemetostat alone. When co‐administered with fluconazole, the Cmax and AUCinf of valemetostat were each increased by 1.6‐fold. No treatment‐related or grade ≥3 adverse events were reported. Appropriate valemetostat dose reductions are warranted when used concomitantly with strong CYP3A and P‐gp dual inhibitors