A VIRTUAL SIMULATOR AS A TOOL FOR TEACHING REFRACTOMETRY

Significance: Several educational technological innovations are developed with the purpose of contributing to the training of future optometrists and ophthalmologists. However, very little is available for teaching refractometry. EYE REFRACTION is a simulator mobile applications (App) that works as a fast, straightforward and interactive interface tool for teaching refractometry. Purpose: Develop novel mobile application software (EYE REFRACTION) as a tool for teaching refractometry in medical schools. Methods: EYE REFRACTION software was developed by the emerging company “Ciência Ilustrada studio” incubated at “INOVA Metrópole” of the Digital Metropolis Institute of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (IMD-UFRN), using the XCode 4.6.2. program (Apple Computer, Inc. Cupertino, CA, USA). This application software (App) was created for Tablets and has a fully interactive workspace, where after inserting the refraction data of the patient, the user can observe points or focal lines of the refractive errors and all the arrangements resulting from the various possible corrections. Results: After 90 days of blind and random simulations of the EYE REFRACTION App performed by volunteered ophthalmologists, six failures were detected and promptly corrected. Two were detected when refractive errors were simulated (simple myopic astigmatism), two during simulations of hypermetropic astigmatism, being one simple and the other compound, and two others during the simulation of mixed astigmatism. Conclusion: A novel App for teaching refractometry was successfully developed, where it enabled a real-time observation of refractive errors and their arrangements. The EYE REFRACTION App is currently available at Apple App Store

Biodistribuição do radiofármaco pertecnetato de sódio (Na99mTcO4) em ratos submetidos a ressecção extensa de intestino delgado

To evaluate the biodistribution of sodium pertecnetate (Na99mTcO4) in organs and tissues, the morphometry of remnant intestinal mucosa and ponderal evolution in rats subjected to massive resection of the small intestine. Methods: Twenty-one Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of 7 animals each. The short bowel (SB) group was subjected to massive resection of the small intestine; the control group (C) rats were not operated on, and soft intestinal handling was performed in sham rats. The animals were weighed weekly. On the 30th postoperative day, 0.l mL of Na99mTcO4, with mean activity of 0.66 MBq was injected intravenously into the orbital plexus. After 30 minutes, the rats were killed with an overdose of anesthetic, and fragments of the liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, thyroid, lung, heart, kidney, bladder, muscle, femur and brain were harvested. The biopsies were washed with 0.9% NaCl.,The radioactivity was counted using Gama Counter WizardTM 1470, PerkinElmer. The percentage of radioactivity per gram of tissue (%ATI-g) was calculated. Biopsies of the remaining jejunum were analysed by HE staining to obtain mucosal thickness. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey test for multiple comparisons were used, considering p<0.05 as signifi cant. Results: There were no signifi cant differences in %ATI-g of the Na99mTcO4 in the organs of the groups studied (p>0.05). An increase in the weight of the SB rats was observed after the second postoperative week. The jejunal mucosal thickness of the SB rats was signifi cantly greater than that of C and sham rats (p<0.05). Conclusion: In rats with experimentally-produced short bowel syndrome, an adaptive response by the intestinal mucosa reduced weight loss. The biodistribution of Na99mTcO4 was not affected by massive intestinal resection, suggesting that short bowel syndrome is not the cause of misleading interpretation, if an examination using this radiopharmaceutical is indicatedCNP

Prevenção de translocação bacteriana com β-(1-3)-D-glucana em isquemia e reperfusão intestinal em ratos

To investigate the role of β-(1-3)-D-glucan on 99mTc labelled Escherichia coli translocation and cytokines secretion in rats submitted to small bowel ischemia/reperfusion injury. Methods: Five groups (n=10 each) of Wistar rats were subjected to control(C), sham(S), group IR subjected to 45 min of bowel ischemia/60 min of reperfusion(I/R), and group I/R+glucan subjected to 45 min of bowel ischemia/60 min of reperfusion(I/R) and injected with 2mg/Kg intramuscular. Translocation of labelled bacteria to mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, spleen, lung and serum was determined using radioactivity/count and colony forming units/g(CFU/g). Serum TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10 were measured by ELISA. Results: CFU/g and radioactivity/count were higher in I/R than in I/R+glucan rats. In C, S and S+glucan groups, bacteria and radioactivity/count were rarely detected. The I/R+glucan rats had enhancement of IL-10 and suppressed production of serum TNFα, IL-1β and, IL-6, compared to I/R untreated animals. Conclusion: The β-(1-3)-D-glucan modulated the production of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines during bowel ischemia/reperfusion, and attenuated translocation of labelled bacteriaCNP

How can micelle systems be rebuilt by a heating process?

The aim of this work was to evaluate how an aqueous micellar system containing Amphotericin B (AmB) and sodium deoxycholate (DOC) can be rebuilt after heating treatment. Also, a review of the literature on the physicochemical and biological properties of this new system was conducted. Heated (AmB-DOC-H) and unheated (AmB-DOC) micelles were then diluted at four different concentrations (50 mg · L−1, 5 mg · L−1, 0.5 mg · L−1, and 0.05 mg · L−1) to perform physicochemical studies and a pharmacotoxicity assay, in which two cell models were used for the in vitro experiments: red blood cells (RBC) from human donors and Candida parapsilosis (Cp). While potassium (K+) and hemoglobin leakage from RBC were the parameters used to evaluate acute and chronic toxicity, respectively, the efficacy of AmB-DOC and AmB-DOC-H were assessed by K+ leakage and cell survival rate from Cp. The spectral study revealed a slight change in the AmB-DOC aggregate peak from 327 nm to 323 nm, which is the peak for AmB-DOC-H. Although AmB-DOC and AmB-DOC-H exhibited different behavior for hemoglobin leakage, AmB-DOC produced higher leakage than AmB-DOC-H at high concentrations (from 5 mg · L−1). For K+ leakage, both AmB-DOC and AmB-DOC-H showed a similar profile for both cell models, RBC and Cp (P < 0.05). AmB-DOC-H and AmB-DOC also revealed a similar profile of activity against Cp with an equivalent survival rate. In short, AmB-DOC-H showed much less toxicity than AmB-DOC, but remained as active as AmB-DOC against fungal cells. The results highlight the importance of this new procedure as a simple, inexpensive, and safe way to produce a new kind of micelle system for the treatment of systemic fungal infections

A sinvastatina melhora a cicatrização de feridas infectadas da pele de ratos

This study explores the potential of the simvastatin to ameliorate inflammation and infection in open infected skin wounds of rats. Methods: Fourteen Wistar rats weighing 285±12g were used. The study was done in a group whose open infected skin wounds were treated with topical application of sinvastatina microemulsion (SIM, n=7) and a second group with wounds treated with saline 0.9 % (SAL, n=7). A bacteriological exam of the wounds fluid for gram positive and gram negative bacteria, the tecidual expression of TNFá and IL-1â by imunohistochemical technique, and histological analysis by HE stain were performed. Results: The expression of TNFa could be clearly demonstrated in lower degree in skin wounds treated with simvastatin (668.6 ± 74.7 ìm2) than in saline (2120.0 ± 327.1 ìm2). In comparison, wound tissue from SIM group displayed leukocyte infiltration significantly lower than that observed in SAL group (p<0.05). Culture results of the samples taken from wound fluid on fourth post treatment day revealed wound infection in only one rat of group simvastatin (SIM), where Proteus mirabilis, Escherchia coli and Enterobacter sp were isolated. In the rats whose wounds were treated with saline (SAL), polymicrobial infection with more than 100,000 CFU/g was detected in all the wounds. Conclusion: In addition to its antiinflammatory properties, the protective effects of simvastatin in infected open skin wounds is able to reduce infection and probably has antibacterial action. The potential to treat these wounds with statins to ameliorate inflammation and infection is promisin

Extracts and Essential Oils from Medicinal Plants and Their Neuroprotective Effect

Current therapies for neurodegenerative diseases offer only limited benefits to their clinical symptoms and do not prevent the degeneration of neuronal cells. Neurological diseases affect millions of people around the world, and the economic impact of treatment is high, given that health care resources are scarce. Thus, many therapeutic strategies to delay or prevent neurodegeneration have been the subject of research for treatment. One strategy for this is the use of herbal and essential oils of different species of medicinal plants because they have several bioactive compounds and phytochemicals with neuroprotective capacity. In addition, they respond positively to neurological disorders, such as dementia, oxidative stress, anxiety, cerebral ischemia, and oxidative toxicity, suggesting their use as complementary treatment agents in the treatment of neurological disorders

Dry eye syndrome: Therapeutic challenges and future trends

Introduction: Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is the therapeutic tool implemented in the treatment of dry eye, characterized by the emission of waves of 500-1200nm in the region of the upper and lower eyelids. Dry eye is a recurring complaint in ophthalmology offices and has an impact on the patient&rsquo;s quality of life. It results from dysfunction of the meibomian glands, duct obstruction, and quantitative and qualitative changes in glandular secretion. It is manifested by dryness and irritation, foreign body sensation, burning, tearing, and eye fatigue. The available treatments are short term palliative with unsatisfactory results