Dibucaine in Ionic-Gradient Liposomes: Biophysical, Toxicological, and Activity Characterization

Administration of local anesthetics is one of the most effective pain control techniques for postoperative analgesia. However, anesthetic agents easily diffuse into the injection site, limiting the time of anesthesia. One approach to prolong analgesia is to entrap local anesthetic agents in nanostructured carriers (e.g., liposomes). Here, we report that using an ammonium sulphate gradient was the best strategy to improve the encapsulation (62.6%) of dibucaine (DBC) into liposomes. Light scattering and nanotracking analyses were used to characterize vesicle properties, such as, size, polydispersity, zeta potentials, and number. In vitro kinetic experiments revealed the sustained release of DBC (50% in 7 h) from the liposomes. In addition, in vitro (3T3 cells in culture) and in vivo (zebrafish) toxicity assays revealed that ionic-gradient liposomes were able to reduce DBC cyto/cardiotoxicity and morphological changes in zebrafish larvae. Moreover, the anesthesia time attained after infiltrative administration in mice was longer with encapsulated DBC (27 h) than that with free DBC (11 h), at 320 μM (0.012%), confirming it as a promising long-acting liposome formulation for parenteral drug administration of dibucaine.Fil: Couto, Verônica M.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Prieto, Maria Jimena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB; ArgentinaFil: Igartúa, Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB; ArgentinaFil: Feas, Daniela Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB; ArgentinaFil: Ribeiro, Lígia N.M.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Silva, Camila M.G.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Castro, Simone R.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Guilherme, Viviane A.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Dantzger, Darlene D.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Machado, Daisy. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Alonso, Silvia del Valle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB | Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Grupo Vinculado al IMBICE - Grupo de Biología Estructural y Biotecnología-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes - GBEyB; ArgentinaFil: de Paula, Eneida. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Brasi

Homoparentality: reflections on the psychic constitution of the child adopted

Trata-se de uma investigação teórica que objetivou compreender os impactos na constituição psíquica da criança adotada por um casal homoafetivo. Apresentam-se os avanços relacionados à viabilidade jurídica desse tipo de adoção e, a partir da teoria psicanalítica, destaca-se a importância das funções parentais na constituição psíquica, uma vez que são exercidas na ordem do simbólico, interligando-se ao desejo e à significação da criança e não necessariamente submetidas ao real da anatomia do par parental. As considerações finais apontam para a necessidade de uma ampla discussão sobre a família homoparental e destaca o papel do psicólogo na compreensão dessa organização familiar.Se trata de una investigación teórica que objetiva comprender los impactos en la constitución psíquica de la criatura adoptada por una pareja homoafectiva. Se presentan los avances relacionados con la viabilidadjurídica de ese tipo de adopción y, a partir de la teoría psicoanalítica, se destaca la importancia de las funciones parentales en la constitución psíquica, una vez que son ejercidas en el orden del simbólico, interconectando el deseo y la significación de la criatura y no necesariamente sometidas a la realidad de la anatomía del par parental. Las consideraciones finales apuntan a la necesidad de una amplia discusión sobre la familia homoparental y destacan el papel del psicólogo en la comprensión de esa organización familiar.This is a theoretical research that aims to understand the impacts on the psychic constitution of the child adopted by a homoafective couple. It is presented the advances related to the legal viability of this type of adoption and, based on psychoanalytic theory, it is emphasized the importance of parental functions in the psychic constitution, once they are exercised in the order of the symbolic, interconnecting the desire and the significance of the child and not necessarily subjected to the real of the parental pair’s anatomy. The final considerations point to the need for a broad discussion about the homoparental family and highlight the role of the psychologist in understanding this family organization

Functional hybrid nanoemulsions for sumatriptan intranasal delivery

In recent years, advanced nanohybrid materials processed as pharmaceuticals have proved to be very advantageous. Triptans, such as the commercially available intranasal sumatriptan (SMT), are drugs employed in the treatment of painful migraine symptoms. However, SMT effectiveness by the intranasal route is limited by its high hydrophilicity and poor mucoadhesion. Therefore, we designed hybrid nanoemulsions (NE) composed of copaiba oil as the organic component plus biopolymers (xanthan, pectin, alginate) solubilized in the continuous aqueous phase, aiming at the intranasal release of SMT (2% w/v). Firstly, drug-biopolymer complexes were optimized in order to decrease the hydrophilicity of SMT. The resultant complexes were further encapsulated in copaiba oil-based nanoparticles, forming NE formulations. Characterization by FTIR-ATR, DSC, and TEM techniques exposed details of the molecular arrangement of the hybrid systems. Long-term stability of the hybrid NE at 25°C was confirmed over a year, regarding size (~ 120 nm), polydispersity (~ 0.2), zeta potential (~ −25 mV), and nanoparticle concentration (~ 2.1014 particles/mL). SMT encapsulation efficiency in the formulations ranged between 41–69%, extending the in vitro release time of SMT from 5 h (free drug) to more than 24 h. The alginate-based NE was selected as the most desirable system and its in vivo nanotoxicity was evaluated in a zebrafish model. Hybrid NE treatment did not affect spontaneous movement or induce morphological changes in zebrafish larvae, and there was no evidence of mortality or cardiotoxicity after 48 h of treatment. With these results, we propose alginate-based nanoemulsions as a potential treatment for migraine pain.Fil: Ribeiro, Lígia N. M.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Rodrigues da Silva, Gustavo H.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Couto, Verônica M.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Castro, Simone R.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Breitkreitz, Márcia C.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Martinez, Carolina Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: Igartúa, Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: Prieto, Maria Jimena. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: de Paula, Eneida. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Brasi

Effets du diagnostic de psychopathologie dans l'enfance sur la relation mère-bébé

Para el psicoanálisis, la constitución subjetiva se remonta a lo establecido en los encuentros y desajustes dentro de la familia, que originan un vínculo denominado relación madre-bebé. A partir de una investigación teórica, el artículo sustenta la hipótesis de que el establecimiento de un diagnóstico psicopatológico en el período inicial de la vida del bebé puede ocasionar problemas en el vínculo, relacionados tanto con la dificultad de la madre para el ejercicio de la función materna, como con la dificultad del bebé en respuesta al Otro materno. Así, al proponer una intervención en el tiempo con el bebé y los padres, el psicoanálisis permite construir una salida que implica recuperar esta relación, para fortalecer el vínculo y buscar un nuevo lugar para ese bebé en el deseo del Otro.  Para a psicanálise, a constituição subjetiva remonta ao que se estabelece nos encontros e desencontros no seio familiar, os quais originam um vínculo nomeado relação mãe-bebê. A partir de uma investigação teórica, o artigo sustenta a hipótese de que o estabelecimento de um diagnóstico psicopatológico no período inicial de vida do bebê pode provocar problemas no vínculo, relacionados tanto a uma dificuldade da mãe em exercer a função materna, quanto a um embaraço do bebê em responder ao Outro materno. Assim, ao propor uma intervenção a tempo com o bebê e os pais, a psicanálise possibilita construir uma saída que envolve recuperar essa relação, de modo a fortalecer o vínculo e buscar um novo lugar para esse bebê no desejo do Outro.Pour la psychanalyse, la constitution subjective remonte à ce qui s’établit dans les rencontres et les décalages au sein de la famille, à l’origine d’un lien nommé relation mère-bébé. Sur la base d’une investigation théorique, l’article soutient l’hypothèse que l’établissement d’un diagnostic psychopathologique dans la période initiale de la vie du bébé peut entraîner des problèmes dans le lien, liés à la fois à la difficulté de la mère à exercer la fonction maternelle, et à une difficulté de le bébé en répondant à l’Autre maternel. Ainsi, en proposant une intervention dans le temps avec le bébé et les parents, la psychanalyse permet de construire une issue qui passe par la récupération de cette relation, afin de renforcer le lien et de chercher une nouvelle place pour ce bébé dans le désir de l’Autre.For psychoanalysis, the subjective constitution goes back to what is established in the encounters and mismatches within the family, which originate a bond named mother-baby relationship. Based on a theoretical investigation, the article supports the hypothesis that the establishment of a psychopathological diagnosis in the initial period of the baby’s life can cause problems in the bond, related both to the mother’s difficulty in exercising the maternal function, and to an embarrassment of the baby in responding to the maternal Other. Thus, when proposing an intervention in time that with the baby and the parents, psychoanalysis makes it possible to build an exit that involves recovering this relationship, in order to strengthen the bond and seek a new place for that baby in the Other’s desire

Study of the effect of solvent on acetylate cashew gum-based nanoparticles properties and antimicrobial activity

The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of acetone and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on acetylated cashew gun (ACG) nanoparticles parameters and to assess their antimicrobial activity. C1 nanoparticles presented smaller size (81.3 nm) than compared to C2 (115.7 nm). Although, acetone formed particles with lower PDI value. Both C1 and C2 presented negative zeta potential (-39.8 and -31.7 respectively). Particle tracking analysis showed that C1 was slightly more concentrated than C2. No statistical differences (p 0.05) between the same samples after 5 months were found. Both samples did not exert inhibitory effect on E. coli, on the contrary S. aureus, in which both C1 (36.9%) and C2 (19.9%) provided important inhibitory effect. C1 presented a more pronounced antifungal effect (81.2%), compared to C2 (18.8%), indicating a promising platform to be used in several biomedical application. Keywords: polysaccharide, nanoparticles, biopolymers, modification, biological applications of polymers.

Factors that can influence the gingival health of children with cerebral palsy

Estudos têm demonstrado que, quanto maior a severidade do dano neurológico em crianças com paralisia cerebral (PC), maior é o risco das doenças orais. Objetivo: Avaliar a influência dos fatores: déficit intelectual, sensibilidade oral, habilidade manual e padrões clínicos da PC sobre a saúde gengival de crianças com PC. Método: Participaram do estudo 106 crianças (10,7 ± 3,6) com PC, que frequentavam um programa de prevenção em Odontologia numa instituição de referência em reabilitação em São Paulo - SP. Os dados relativos ao sexo, desordem do movimento, tipo clínico da PC e uso contínuo de drogas foram coletados dos prontuários. As avaliações clínicas odontológicas incluíram o Índice de Higiene Oral Simplificado (OIHS), o Índice Gengival (IG) e presença do reflexo de mordida. Ainda foram realizadas as avaliações da sensibilidade oral, intelectual pelo Raven test e a habilidade manual pelo Sistema de Classificação da Habilidade Manual (MACS). Foram utilizados os testes t-Student, Qui-quadrado e regressão logística. Fixou-se nível de significância em 5%. Resultados: O grupo 1 (G1) era composto por 47 crianças sem gengivite e o grupo 2 (G2) por 59 crianças com gengivite. As crianças do G2 eram significantemente mais velhas (p = 0,001), com tetraparesia (p = 0,016), em uso de medicamentos (p < 0,001) e com reflexo de mordida (p = 0,025). As crianças do G2 apresentaram valores significantemente maiores para o IHOS (p < 0,001) e IG (p < 0,001); porcentagens significantemente maiores de crianças com percentis inferiores a 10 (p = 0,036) para o teste Raven e com habilidade manual níveis IV e V (p = 0,002) do MACS. A chance de uma criança apresentar gengivite cresce 23,5% para cada ano de idade, até 5 vezes para cada 1 unidade de aumento do IHOS e cerca de 4,5 vezes com utilização de medicamento. Conclusão: O aumento da idade, o acúmulo do biofilme e o uso de medicamentos aumentam o risco de gengivite em crianças com PC.Studies have shown that the greater the severity of neurological damage in children with cerebral palsy (CP), the greater risk of oral disease. Objective: To evaluate the influence of some factors as intellectual disability, oral sensitivity, manual ability and clinical patterns of cerebral palsy (CP) onto gingival health of CP children. Method: One hundred and six children (10.7 ± 3.6) with CP participated of the study. Descriptive data and continuous use of drugs were collected from their medical records. Clinical assessments included the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (SOHI), the Gingival Index (GI) and the biting reflex. Were also evaluate oral sensitivity, intellectual assessment by Raven test, and manual dexterity by Manual Ability Classification System Manual (MACS). It was used the chi-square, t Student, and logistic regression tests whit a significance level of 5%. Results: Group 1 (G1) consisted of 47 children without and group 2 (G2) by 59 children with gingivitis. Groups were similar regarding gender (p = 0566), but G2 were significantly older (p = 0.001), with quadriplegia (p = 0.016), who used drugs (p < 0.001) and biting reflex (p = 0.025). G2 children presented significantly higher values for SOHI (p < 0.001) and IG (p < 0.001). Significantly higher percentages of children in G2 presented percentiles below 10 (p = 0.036) for Raven test, with manual skill levels IV and V (p = 0.002) of MACS. The chance of a child present gingivitis grows 23.5% for each year of age, and up to 5 times for every 1 unit increase in SOHI. The use of medication increases the chance of children present gingivitis by about 4.5 times. Conclusion: Increasing age, accumulation of biofilm, and use of drugs increase the risk of gingivitis in children with CP

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio