Progress in animal experimentation ethics. A case study from a brazilian medical school and from the international medical literature

PURPOSE: This study describes in Brazil and in the global biomedical community the time course of the development of animal research welfare guidelines. METHODS: The database of the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto (EC/FMRP-USP), Brazil, was surveyed since its inception in 2002 as the regulations became more stringent to provide better protection of animal research welfare at this institution. Medline database was evaluated to identify the number of publications in the period between 1968 and 2008 that used research animals and were in compliance with established ethics guidelines. RESULTS: The EC/FMRP-USP evaluated 979 projects up until 2009. Most of the applications came from Department of Physiology and the most frequently requested species was the rat. In 2004, national research funding agencies started to request prior approval from institutional review ethics committees prior to application review and this requirement became federal law in Brazil in 2008. The analysis of international publications revealed a relative reduction in studies involving research animals (18% in 1968 to 7.5% in 2008). CONCLUSIONS: The present work showed that in the last four decades major changes occurred in the guidelines dictating use of research animals occurred and they are being adopted by developing countries. Moreover, animal welfare concern in the scientific community preceded the introduction of journal guidelines for this purpose. Furthermore, in Brazil it was anticipated that laws were needed to protect animal research welfare from being not upheld.

Analysis of the NMDA in Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) is one subtype of ionotrophic glutamate receptor which is extensively distributed in the central nervous system (CNS). In the mammalian CNS, NMDAR serves prominent roles in the pathophysiologic process of cerebral ischemia. This study aimed to investigate the pattern of expression of protein and gene of the excitatory neurotransmitter NMDAR in experimental focal cerebral ischemia and the hole of neuroprotection with hypothermia and ketoprofen. 120 rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (20 animals each): control - no surgery; sham - simulation of surgery; ischemic - focal ischemia for 1 hour, without reperfusion; ischemic + intraischemic hypothermia; ischemic + previous intravenous ketoprofen, and ischemic + hypothermia and ketoprofen. Ten animals from each experimental group were used to establish the volume of infarct. Transient focal cerebral ischemia was obtained in rats by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery with an intraluminal suture. The infarct volume was measured using morphometric analysis of infarct areas defined by triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and the patterns of expression of the protein and gene NMDA were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. Increases in the protein and gene NMDA receptor in the ischemics areas were observed and these increases were reduced by hypothermia and ketoprofen. The increase in the NMDA receptor protein and gene expression observed in the ischemic animals was reduced by neuroprotection (hypothermia and ketoprofen). The NMDA receptor increases in the ischemic area suggests that the NMDA mediated neuroexcitotoxicity plays an important role in cell death and that the neuroprotective effect of both, hypothermia and ketoprofen is directly involved with the NMDA.

General results for the Kumaraswamy-G distribution

For any continuous baseline G distribution [G. M. Cordeiro and M. de Castro, A new family of generalized distributions, J. Statist. Comput. Simul. 81 (2011), pp. 883-898], proposed a new generalized distribution (denoted here with the prefix 'Kw-G'(Kumaraswamy-G)) with two extra positive parameters. They studied some of its mathematical properties and presented special sub-models. We derive a simple representation for the Kw-Gdensity function as a linear combination of exponentiated-G distributions. Some new distributions are proposed as sub-models of this family, for example, the Kw-Chen [Z.A. Chen, A new two-parameter lifetime distribution with bathtub shape or increasing failure rate function, Statist. Probab. Lett. 49 (2000), pp. 155-161], Kw-XTG [M. Xie, Y. Tang, and T.N. Goh, A modified Weibull extension with bathtub failure rate function, Reliab. Eng. System Safety 76 (2002), pp. 279-285] and Kw-Flexible Weibull [M. Bebbington, C. D. Lai, and R. Zitikis, A flexible Weibull extension, Reliab. Eng. System Safety 92 (2007), pp. 719-726]. New properties of the Kw-G distribution are derived which include asymptotes, shapes, moments, moment generating function, mean deviations, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves, reliability, Renyi entropy and Shannon entropy. New properties of the order statistics are investigated. We discuss the estimation of the parameters by maximum likelihood. We provide two applications to real data sets and discuss a bivariate extension of the Kw-G distribution.

Skin picking and trichotillomania in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

The objective of this study was to compare patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) associated with pathologic skin picking (PSP) and/or trichotillomania, and patients with OCD without such comorbidities, for demographic and clinical characteristics. We assessed 901 individuals with a primary diagnosis of OCD, using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) Axis I disorders. Diagnoses of PSP and trichotillomania were made in 16.3% and 4.9% of the sample, respectively. After the logistic regression analysis, the following factors retained an association with OCD-PSP/trichotillomania: younger (odds ratio [OR] = 0.979; P = .047), younger at the onset of compulsive symptoms (OR = 0.941; P = .007), woman (OR = 2.538; P < .001), with a higher level of education (OR = 1.055; P = .025), and with comorbid body dysmorphic disorder (OR = 2.363; P = .004). These findings support the idea that OCD accompanied by PSP/trichotillomania characterizes a specific subgroup. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EVALUATION OF MICROBIAL GROWTH ON SINGLE-USE VITRECTOMY PROBES REPROCESSED IN HEALTHCARE PRACTICE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbial growth on single-use vitrectomy probes reprocessed in healthcare practice. We investigated nine vitrectomy probes that had been reused and reprocessed using different methods. The samples were sectioned, individually, in portions of 3.5 cm, totaling 979 sampling units (extensions, connectors and vitrectomy cutters), which were inoculated in culture medium and incubated at 37 C for 14 days. The results showed microbial growth on 57 (5.8%) sample units, 25 of which had been sterilized using ethylene oxide, 16 by hydrogen peroxide plasma, and 16 by low-temperature steam and formaldehyde. Seventeen microbial species were identified. The most prevalent were: Micrococcus spp., coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas spp., and Bacillus subtilis. The reuse of single-use vitrectomy probes was shown to be unsafe, therefore this practice is not recommended.

Social Networks, Segregation and Poverty in Sao Paulo

The associations between segregation and urban poverty have been intensely scrutinized by the sociology and urban studies literatures. More recently, several studies have emphasized the importance of social networks for living conditions. Yet relatively few studies have tested the precise effects of social networks, and fewer still have focused on the joint effects of residential segregation and social networks on living conditions. This article explores the associations between networks, segregation and some of the most important dimensions of access to goods and services obtained in markets: escaping from social precariousness and obtaining monetary income. It is based on a study of the personal networks of 209 individuals living in situations of poverty in seven locales in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo. Using network analysis and multivariate techniques, I show that relational settings strongly influence the access individuals have to markets, leading some individuals into worse living conditions and poverty. At the same time, although segregation plays an important role in poverty, its effects tend to be mediated by the networks in which individuals are embedded. Networks in this sense may enhance or mitigate the effects of isolation produced by space.

Avaliação do crescimento microbiano em sondas de uso único para vitrectomia reprocessadas na prática assistencial

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o crescimento microbiano em sondas para vitrectomia de uso único, reprocessadas na prática assistencial. Foram investigadas nove sondas reusadas e reprocessadas por diferentes métodos. As sondas foram segmentadas, individualmente, em porções de 3,5 cm, totalizando em 979 unidades amostrais (extensões, conectores e ponteiras) inoculadas em meio de cultura e incubadas a 37ºC, por 14 dias. Os resultados mostraram crescimento microbiano em 57 (5,8%) unidades amostrais, das quais, 25 foram esterilizadas por Óxido de Etileno, 16 por Plasma de Peróxido de Hidrogênio e 16 por Vapor à Baixa Temperatura e Formaldeído. Foram identificadas 17 espécies microbianas, sendo as mais prevalentes o Micrococcus spp., Staphylococcus coagulase negativa, Pseudomonas spp. e Bacillus subtilis. O reuso de sondas de uso único para vitrectomia não se mostrou seguro, portanto tal prática não é recomendada.

Progress in animal experimentation ethics: a case study from a Brazilian medical school and from the international medical literature

PURPOSE: This study describes in Brazil and in the global biomedical community the time course of the development of animal research welfare guidelines. METHODS: The database of the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto (EC/FMRP-USP), Brazil, was surveyed since its inception in 2002 as the regulations became more stringent to provide better protection of animal research welfare at this institution. Medline database was evaluated to identify the number of publications in the period between 1968 and 2008 that used research animals and were in compliance with established ethics guidelines. RESULTS: The EC/FMRP-USP evaluated 979 projects up until 2009. Most of the applications came from Department of Physiology and the most frequently requested species was the rat. In 2004, national research funding agencies started to request prior approval from institutional review ethics committees prior to application review and this requirement became federal law in Brazil in 2008. The analysis of international publications revealed a relative reduction in studies involving research animals (18% in 1968 to 7.5% in 2008). CONCLUSIONS: The present work showed that in the last four decades major changes occurred in the guidelines dictating use of research animals occurred and they are being adopted by developing countries. Moreover, animal welfare concern in the scientific community preceded the introduction of journal guidelines for this purpose. Furthermore, in Brazil it was anticipated that laws were needed to protect animal research welfare from being not upheld.

Frequency of Toxocara infection in children attended by the health public service of Maringá, south Brazil.

The lack of specific laboratorial diagnosis methods and precise symptoms makes the toxocariasis a neglected disease in Public Health Services. This study aims to determine the frequency of Toxocara spp. infection in children attended by the Health Public Service of Hospital Municipal de Maringá, South Brazil. To evaluate the association of epidemiological and clinical data, and observational and cross-section study was carried out. From 14,690 attended children/year aged from seven month to 12 years old, 450 serum samples were randomly collected from September/2004 to September/2005. A questionnaire was used to evaluate epidemiological, clinical and hematological data. An ELISA using Toxocara canis larval excretory-secretory products as antigen detected 130 (28.8%) positive sera, mainly between children from seven month to five years old (p = 0.0016). Significant correlation was observed between positive serology for Toxocara, and frequent playing in sandbox at school or daycare center (p = 0.011) and the presence of a cat at home (p = 0.056). From the families, 50% were dog owners which exposed soil backyards. Eosinophilia (p = 0.776), and signs and symptoms analyzed (fever p = 0.992, pneumonia p = 0.289, cold-like symptoms p = 0.277, cough p =0.783, gastrointestinal problems p = 0.877, migraine p = 0.979, abdominal pain p = 0.965, joint pain p = 0.686 and skin rash p = 0.105) could not be related to the presence of anti-Toxocara antibodies. Therefore, two asthmatics children showed titles of1:10,240 and accentuated eosinophilia (p = 0.0001). The authors emphasize the needs of prevention activities.