Processos aleatórios não-markovianos: perfis de memória

One of the mechanisms responsible for the anomalous diffusion is the existence of long-range temporal correlations, for example, Fractional Brownian Motion and walk models according to Elephant memory and Alzheimer profiles, whereas in the latter two cases the walker can always "remember" of his first steps. The question to be elucidated, and the was the main motivation of our work, is if memory of the historic initial is condition for observation anomalous diffusion (in this case, superdiffusion). We give a conclusive answer, by studying a non-Markovian model in which the walkers memory of the past, at time t, is given by a Gaussian centered at time t=2 and standard deviation t which grows linearly as the walker ages. For large widths of we find that the model behaves similarly to the Elephant model; In the opposite limit (! 0), although the walker forget the early days, we observed similar results to the Alzheimer walk model, in particular the presence of amnestically induced persistence, characterized by certain log-periodic oscillations. We conclude that the memory of earlier times is not a necessary condition for the generating of superdiffusion nor the amnestically induced persistence and can appear even in profiles of memory that forgets the initial steps, like the Gausssian memory profile investigated here.

Avaliação dos efeitos da retirada do etanol em curto e longo prazo sobre respostas comportamentais relacionadas à ansiedade e sobre células imunorreativas para a serotonina no núcleo dorsal da Rafe em ratas

Ethanol withdrawn individuals present a wealth of signs and symptoms, some of them related with anxiety. To better understand brain areas involved in anxiety caused by ethanol abstinence, preclinical studies have been employing models of ethanol consumption followed by withdrawal in rodents submitted to behavioral tests of anxiety, such as the elevated plus-maze. The aim of this study was to investigate if short- or long-term ethanol withdrawal could alter both anxiety-related behaviors in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and open field tests and the number of serotonin immunorreactive cels in the dorsal raphe nucleus, a midbrain area associated with anxiety. Female Wistar rats (90 days old) were submitted to increasing concentrations of ethanol (2% for 3 days, 4% for 3 days and 6% for 15 days) as the only source of liquid diet and the control group received water ad libitum. Both groups received food ad libitum. In the behavioral experiments, on 21st day of consumption, ethanol was substituted by water (withdrawal) and 72 h or 21 days after withdrawal animals were submitted to the EPM, where it was evaluated the percentage of time and entries in the open arms and the entries in the enclosed arms during 5 minutes. Twenty and four hours after testing in the EPM, animals were submitted to the open field test for 15 minutes, where the distance traveled by the animals was observed along this period. During the first 5 minutes, the distance traveled, entries and time spent in the center of the test were analyzed. In the immunohistochemistry study, animals were submitted to 21 days of consumption of ethanol followed or not by 72 hours and 21 days of withdrawal previously perfusion, brain tissue preparation and quantification of serotonin dyed cells in the dorsal and caudal portions in the dorsal raphe nucleus. Behavioral data showed that both short- and long-term ethanol withdrawals reduced the open arms exploration in the EPM. In the open field test there were no locomotor activity changes during the total 15 minutes; however, longterm ethanol withdrawal reduced the exploration in the center of the open field during the first 5 minutes. In the immunohistochemistry step, there were no differences, when short- and long-term withdrawn groups were compared with control group; nevertheless, the chronic consumption of ethanol decreased the number of serotonergic immunorreactive cells in the dorsal part of dorsal raphe nucleus. Taken together, results here obtained suggest that both short- and long-term ethanol withdrawals promoted an anxiogenic-like effect that was not related with changes in the serotonin immunorreactivity in the dorsal and caudal parts of the dorsal raphe nucleus.

Atividade toxicológica do extrato das folhas de Kalanchoe brasiliensis em camundongos Swiss

The species of the genus Kalanchoe (Crassulaceae) are widely used in Brazil as a medicinal product to treat cough, boils, gastritis and other diseases. In this scenario stands out K. brasiliensis, popularly known as coirama or saião. This paper aims at the oral exposure of mice to a hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of Kalanchoe brasiliensis. The animals (total of 100) were divided into 12 groups (6 males and 6 females) for the acute assessment; and groups of 10 for subchronic evaluation. Test groups were treated with doses of 250 mg / kg, 500 mg / kg, 1000 mg / kg and 2000 mg / kg and the control group received 0.9% saline. The animals were observed for 14 days for acute evaluation and 30 days for subchronic evaluation, and in that period analyzed the appearance of clinical signs, changes in weight and consumption of water and food. After the observation period, histopathological analysis of the organs, biochemical serum and haematological parameters for the assessment of the subchronic groups were processed. Differences and changes in body weight were not observed among the groups, nor consumption of water and food, there were no deaths among the groups in the two types of assays. Histopathological analysis showed some alterations compatible with low acute hepatic toxicity. The results of blood glucose, triglycerides, ALT, urea and creatinine showed differences between the control group and the test concentrations studied (p <0.05), but these differences do not show relevant change in the clinical picture of animals. The results showed that the extract K. brasiliensis has low acute toxicity at the doses used and no toxicity when administered for 30 days. This highlights the importance of this species as future and promising candidate for phytotherapics, so has its pharmacological trials completed.

Transplantes de córneas no estado do Rio Grande do Norte: aspectos epidemiológicos e clínicos

This study aimed to characterize in a clinical and epidemiological way the patients who are on a waiting list for transplantation and the patients transplanted with corneal tissue in a corneal transplants reference service in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. It is an epidemiological study of a quantitative approach, with cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical cut including all patients on the waiting list for transplantation (population A) and the patients already transplanted with a corneal tissue (population B) in a reference service. In population A, there was a census conducted of patients on the waiting list for corneal transplantation (n=62 patients). In population B, the sample was non-probabilistic and corresponded to all corneal transplants performed in the service in the period from 2010 to 2014 (n=258). This study is approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, in Opinion 876 177 and CAAE 37533014.8.0000.5537. Data were collected in full in the period from January to April 2015, by two instruments built to systematize the necessary data collection. After being coded and tabulated, data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, version 20.0. The definition of variables and their distribution patterns were presented as frequencies and measures of central tendency while, for multivariate analysis, the effect of magnitude measures were applied (prevalence ratio) and measures of association (chi-square test or Fisher's exact test) for a 0.05 significance level. The results are shown in two scientific articles coming from the field survey data. It was found that the epidemiological profile of patients on the waiting list (n=62) showed a prevalence of individuals aged over 50 years old, female (54.84%) and residents of the middle region of East Rio Grande do Norte (66.13%). The clinical profile of patients with corneal transplantation (n=258) was characterized by being male (51.16%) with an average age of 49.33 years old and 57.75% were coming from East Rio Grande do Norte. The average time on the waiting list was 172.63 days in elective transplants and 9.03 days in urgent transplants. Keratoconus was the main indicator condition to perform the transplant. For patients on the waiting list, the variable “type of disorder of the cornea” showed statistically significant association with gender and age. For patients with corneal transplants, the variable "type of disorder of the cornea" was associated with the variables gender, age, previous surgery, failure of previous graft, classification of the eye and glaucoma. By characterizing the clinical and epidemiological profile of corneal transplants, it is possible to question the reality, pointing about the care that should be offered and develop targeted interventions to collective and individual needs intrinsic to patients who need this surgery as a treatment option.

Efeitos do Kinesio Taping® sobre os marcadores clínicos indiretos de dano muscular induzido pelo exercício excêntrico: ensaio clínico randomizado

Objective: analyze the effect of Kinesio Taping (KT) on the indirect clinical markers of muscle damage induced by eccentric exercises in the elbow flexors in healthy individuals. Materials and methods: It is a randomized controlled trial involving sixty volunteers at age group between 18 and 28 years randomly selected. The sample into three groups with twenty participants: control group (CG) – eccentric protocol without KT, KT group – eccentric with tensioned KT, placebo group – eccentric protocol KT with no tension. The evaluations took place at four moments; the first one was the basis line (AV1), after the second protocol (AV2) and the following two groups 24 (AV3) and 48 hours (AV4) after the intervention protocol. The muscle damage was induced by sixteen maximum eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors from the non-dominant limb, divided in two sets of eight repetitions, at 60º/s, with two minutes interval. The variables analyzed were: the joint amplitude in rest, the level of pain, the joint position sense (JPS) followed of isokinetic checking with electromyographic sign capitation. These data were analyzed in software SPSS 20.0. The normality was identified by Kolmogorov-Smimov examination and then, being used the ANOVA mixed model with significance of 5%. Outcomes: a decrease was observed at joint amplitude moreover, an immediate increase of pain wich increased after 24 and remained until 48 hours at all groups searched. There was not difference at the JPS. The variables peak torque, average peak torque, total work and mean power mean reduced until 48 hours after muscle lesion in all groups. Among the groups, there was no difference in EMG values and for any of the variables. Conclusion: The KT did not influence at the indirect clinical markers of muscle lesion induced by eccentric exercises in the elbow flexors in healthy people.

Efeitos do Kinesio Taping® sobre os marcadores clínicos indiretos de dano muscular induzido pelo exercício excêntrico: ensaio clínico randomizado

Objective: analyze the effect of Kinesio Taping (KT) on the indirect clinical markers of muscle damage induced by eccentric exercises in the elbow flexors in healthy individuals. Materials and methods: It is a randomized controlled trial involving sixty volunteers at age group between 18 and 28 years randomly selected. The sample into three groups with twenty participants: control group (CG) – eccentric protocol without KT, KT group – eccentric with tensioned KT, placebo group – eccentric protocol KT with no tension. The evaluations took place at four moments; the first one was the basis line (AV1), after the second protocol (AV2) and the following two groups 24 (AV3) and 48 hours (AV4) after the intervention protocol. The muscle damage was induced by sixteen maximum eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors from the non-dominant limb, divided in two sets of eight repetitions, at 60º/s, with two minutes interval. The variables analyzed were: the joint amplitude in rest, the level of pain, the joint position sense (JPS) followed of isokinetic checking with electromyographic sign capitation. These data were analyzed in software SPSS 20.0. The normality was identified by Kolmogorov-Smimov examination and then, being used the ANOVA mixed model with significance of 5%. Outcomes: a decrease was observed at joint amplitude moreover, an immediate increase of pain wich increased after 24 and remained until 48 hours at all groups searched. There was not difference at the JPS. The variables peak torque, average peak torque, total work and mean power mean reduced until 48 hours after muscle lesion in all groups. Among the groups, there was no difference in EMG values and for any of the variables. Conclusion: The KT did not influence at the indirect clinical markers of muscle lesion induced by eccentric exercises in the elbow flexors in healthy people.

A razão embotada: ensaios de crítica literária

A obra "A razão embotada: ensaios de crítica literária", de autoria do prof. Andrey Pereira de Oliveira, do Departamento de Letras da UFRN, é composta por 14 ensaios que discorrem acerca de obras das literaturas brasileira e universal. Os textos tiveram uma primeira publicação em livros coletivos, revistas acadêmicas ou anais de congressos científicos e passaram por adaptações para reunião neste volume.

Acurácia dos indicadores clínicos do diagnóstico de enfermagem falta de adesão em pessoas vivendo com AIDS

In the early 1990s, a major milestone in the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was the development of highly active combination antiretroviral therapy. The great benefit generated by the use of this therapy was prolonging the survival of the people who got this disease, since it is no longer considered fatal, becoming a chronic condition. Despite improvements generated by this therapy, there are still many difficulties to be overcome. One is the patient adherence to their treatment, bringing challenges to services and health professionals. Hence the need for early identification of nursing diagnosis Lack of Accession so that solutions are sought by the nurse with the patient and his family. With this problem, adds to the difficulty of hospital nurses in inferring that diagnosis, especially in identifying their defining characteristics. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the accuracy of clinical indicators of nursing diagnosis Lack of Adherence to antiretroviral treatment for people living with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The research took place in two stages. The first consists of the evaluation of the diagnostic indicators in the study; and second, the diagnostic inference performed by specialist nurses. The first step took place in a referral hospital in the treatment of infectious diseases in the Northeast of Brazil, and data were collected through an instrument for carrying out history and physical examination and analyzed for the presence or absence of the diagnostic indicators. In the second stage, the data were sent to experts, who judged the presence or absence of the diagnosis in the studied clientele. The project was submitted to the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, obtaining approval with the General Certificate for Ethics Assessment (CAAE) No 46206215.3.0000.5537. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Test were used Fisher's exact, chi-square test of Pearson and logistic regression. Since the accuracy of clinical indicators was measured by sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios. As a result, we identified the presence of diagnosis Lack of Accession on 69% (n = 78) of the study patients. The defining characteristics that showed statistically significant association with the diagnosis studied were: lack of adherence behavior, complications related to development, missing scheduled appointments, failure to achieve results, and exacerbation of symptoms. The characteristic with greater sensitivity was missing scheduled appointments and the highest specificity behavior of noncompliance. The logistic regression showed as predictors for the diagnosis Lack of Accession: lack of adherence behavior, missing scheduled appointments, failure to achieve results, and exacerbation of symptoms. It was concluded that the identification of clinical indicators accurately enabled a good prediction of the nursing diagnosis Lack of Accession on people living with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, helping nurses develop early on strategies for promoting adherence to the use of antiretrovirals.

Acurácia dos indicadores clínicos do diagnóstico de enfermagem falta de adesão em pessoas vivendo com AIDS

In the early 1990s, a major milestone in the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was the development of highly active combination antiretroviral therapy. The great benefit generated by the use of this therapy was prolonging the survival of the people who got this disease, since it is no longer considered fatal, becoming a chronic condition. Despite improvements generated by this therapy, there are still many difficulties to be overcome. One is the patient adherence to their treatment, bringing challenges to services and health professionals. Hence the need for early identification of nursing diagnosis Lack of Accession so that solutions are sought by the nurse with the patient and his family. With this problem, adds to the difficulty of hospital nurses in inferring that diagnosis, especially in identifying their defining characteristics. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the accuracy of clinical indicators of nursing diagnosis Lack of Adherence to antiretroviral treatment for people living with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The research took place in two stages. The first consists of the evaluation of the diagnostic indicators in the study; and second, the diagnostic inference performed by specialist nurses. The first step took place in a referral hospital in the treatment of infectious diseases in the Northeast of Brazil, and data were collected through an instrument for carrying out history and physical examination and analyzed for the presence or absence of the diagnostic indicators. In the second stage, the data were sent to experts, who judged the presence or absence of the diagnosis in the studied clientele. The project was submitted to the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, obtaining approval with the General Certificate for Ethics Assessment (CAAE) No 46206215.3.0000.5537. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Test were used Fisher's exact, chi-square test of Pearson and logistic regression. Since the accuracy of clinical indicators was measured by sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios. As a result, we identified the presence of diagnosis Lack of Accession on 69% (n = 78) of the study patients. The defining characteristics that showed statistically significant association with the diagnosis studied were: lack of adherence behavior, complications related to development, missing scheduled appointments, failure to achieve results, and exacerbation of symptoms. The characteristic with greater sensitivity was missing scheduled appointments and the highest specificity behavior of noncompliance. The logistic regression showed as predictors for the diagnosis Lack of Accession: lack of adherence behavior, missing scheduled appointments, failure to achieve results, and exacerbation of symptoms. It was concluded that the identification of clinical indicators accurately enabled a good prediction of the nursing diagnosis Lack of Accession on people living with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, helping nurses develop early on strategies for promoting adherence to the use of antiretrovirals.

Avaliação da fidedignidade dos ensaios de esteróides fecais realizados no Laboratório de Medidas Hormonais do Departamento de Fisiologia da UFRN

NASCIMENTO, H. G. ; FERNANDES, L. C. ; SOUSA, M. B. C. . Avaliação da fidedignidade dos ensaios de esteróides fecais realizados no Laboratório de Medidas Hormonais do Departamento de Fisiologia da UFRN. Publica , v. 2, p. 39-48, 2006.

Efeito anti-inflamatório do heparinóide isolado do camarão Litopenaeus vannamei sobre a peritonite aguda

In recent years the heparin has been the subject of several studies that aim to expand its use as a therapeutic agent, due to its ability to modulate the activity of various proteins that play important roles in the regulation of pathophysiological processes. In several experiments and preclinical trials, heparin has demonstrated an anti-inflammatory role. However, its clinical use is limited, due to its strong anticoagulant activity and hemorrhagic complications. For this reason, considerable efforts have been employed in discovery of heparin analogous (heparinoid) with reduced side effects, that retain the anti-inflammatory properties of heparin. In this context, a heparinoid obtained from the head of Litopenaeus vannamei shrimp, which presents a structural similarity to heparin, showed, in previous studies, anti-inflammatory activity in a model of acute peritonitis with reduced anticoagulant effect in vitro and low hemorrhagic activity. Thus, the present work had as objective to evaluate the effect the heparinoid of the cephalothorax of gray shrimp on the acute inflammatory response in different times (3 or 6 hours after the induction of inflammatory stimulus), using the model of acute peritonitis induced in mice. It was also analyzed the HL effect over the activity of elastase, an enzyme involved in leukocyte recruitment. Furthermore to check if the different doses of heparin and heparinoid change the hemostatic balance in vivo, was assessed the effect of these compounds on the plasma clotting time in animals submitted to inflammation. The results show that in 3 hours, all doses of heparinoid were able to prevent efficiently in the acute inflammatory process without any anticoagulant effects, unlike the extrapolation dose of heparin, which has induced a large hemorrhage due its high anticoagulant activity. However, 6 hours after induction of inflammation, only the dosages of 0.1 and 1.0 μg/Kg of heparin and 1.0 μg/Kg of heparinoid kept anti-migratory effect, without changing of the hemostatic balance. These results indicate that the anti-migratory effect of theses compounds depends on the dosage and time of inflammatory stimulus. The HL and heparin were also able to inhibit the activity of the enzyme elastase. The discovery of this bioactive compound in the cephalothorax of shrimps can arouse great interest in biotechnology, since this compound could be useful as a structural model interesting for the development of new therapeutic agents for peritonitis