Estudo comparativo entre o tratamento radioterápico com elétrons e betaterapia, após cirurgia de queloides

Introduction: The surgery of keloids as an individual therapy with high rates of recurrence needs adjuvant therapies as complement. Recent keloids are rich in fibroblasts, which are highly radiosensitive and what explains the good results of percutaneous radiotherapy after surgery. Objective: To compare the beta-therapy results with electron-beam technique in newly operated keloids. Material and Methods: a prospective, comparative and randomized study was outlined including patients in the immediate postoperative period of surgical excision of keloids. Divided in G1 and G2 groups respectively, they received treatment with Sr90 (beta-therapy)plates or with electrons from the linear accelerator. The monitoring lasted 10 years. The results were performed using the information from patients, photograph parameters, observation and measurement of injuries, according to the criteria: Unchanged, Regular, Good and Excellent. Results: There were 26 patients, 13 in each group. In G1, 54% presented regular and unchanged improvement criteria and 46% had good or excellent criteria. In G2, the results were respectively 23% and 77%. Conclusion: The irradiation with electron-beam is better than beta-teraphy for the treatment of keloids surgery, due to the distribution in the tissue. No radio-induced tumors were observed.

Inter-relação entre o balanço cátion-aniônico do alimento e o ph urinário de gatos

Studies for the food development of formulations for pets, look for key components to maintaining healthy way of life and safety of products, including these, elements capable of preventing the risk of certain metabolic disorders associated with diet. Feline urinarytract disorders, highlights the urolithiasis, have high incidence in clinical series. Studies linking dietary factors such as ingredients, digestibility and chemical composition, changing the volume, density and pH of urine and consequent induction training for urolithiasis. A highly significant correlation between the mineral composition of the diet and urine pH of cats began to be studied, using the association between the cation-anion balance of the diet (DCAB) and regulation of acid-base balance of the body. The DCAB can be defined as the difference between the total fixed anions and cations present in the diet, important tool for estimating the urinary pH and to determine the range of pH that favors the food used, thereby linking the trigger and the prevention of struvite and calcium oxalate urolithiasis in the urinary tract of cats. Thus, this review aims to clarify the effects of the nutritional composition of diet on urine pH in cats.

Influence of the network modifier on the characteristics of MSnO 3 (M=Sr and Ca) thin films synthesized by chemical solution deposition

CaSnO3 and SrSnO3 alkaline earth stannate thin films were prepared by chemical solution deposition using the polymeric precursor method on various single crystal substrates (R- and C-sapphire and 100-SrTiO3) at different temperatures. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (θ-2θ, ω- and φ-scans), field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Epitaxial SrSnO3 and CaSnO 3 thin films were obtained on SrTiO3 with a high crystalline quality. The long-range symmetry promoted a short-range disorder which led to photoluminescence in the epitaxial films. In contrast, the films deposited on sapphire exhibited a random polycrystalline growth with no meaningful emission regardless of the substrate orientation. The network modifier (Ca or Sr) and the substrate (sapphire or SrTiO3) influenced the crystallization process and/or the microstructure. Higher is the tilts of the SnO6 octahedra, as in CaSnO3, higher is the crystallization temperature, which changed also the nucleation/grain growth process. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of the composition on the thermal behaviour of the SrSn1-xTixO3 precursor prepared by the polymeric precursor method

Strontium stannate titanate Sr(Sn, Ti)O3 is a solid solution between strontium stannate (SrSnO3) and strontium titanate (SrTiO3). In the present study, it was synthesized at low temperature by the polymeric precursor method, derived from the Pechini process. The powders were calcined in oxygen atmosphere in order to eliminate organic matter and to decrease the amount of SrCO3 formed during the synthesis. The powders were annealed at different temperatures to crystallize the samples into perovskites-type structures. All the compositions were studied by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The lattice former, Ti4+ and Sn4+, had a meaningful influence in the mass loss, without changing the profile of the TG curves. On the other hand, DTA curves were strongly modified with the Ti4+:Sn4+ proportion in the system indicating that intermediate compounds may be formed during the synthesis being eliminated at different temperature ranges, while SrCO3 elimination occurs at higher temperature as shown by XRD and IR spectra. © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.

Photo-Fenton degradation kinetics of low ciprofloxacin concentration using different iron sources and pH

The aim of the present study was to compare the degradation kinetics of low (1 mg L-1) and high (25 mg L-1) concentrations of ciprofloxacin (CIP) aiming to decrease the concentration of additives and evaluate the pH limitation by the use of low iron concentrations and organic ligands. A parameterized kinetic model was satisfactorily fitted to the experimental data in order to study the performance of photo-Fenton process with specific iron sources (iron citrate, iron oxalate, iron nitrate) under different pH medium (2.5, 4.5, 6.5). The process modeling allowed selecting those process conditions (iron source, additives concentrations and pH medium) which maximize the two performance parameters related to the global equilibrium conversion and kinetic rate of the process. For the high CIP concentration, degradation was very influenced by the iron source, resulting in much lower efficiency with iron nitrate. At pH 4.5, highest TOC removal (0.87) was achieved in the presence of iron citrate, while similar CIP conversions were obtained with oxalate and citrate (0.98 after 10 min). For the low CIP concentration, much higher conversion was observed in the presence of citrate or oxalate in relation to iron nitrate up to pH 4.5. This behavior denotes the importance of complexation also at low dosages. Appropriate additives load (320 μM H 2O2; 6 μM Fe) resulted in a CIP conversion of 0.96 after10 min reaction with citrate up to pH 4.5. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Heterogeneous catalysis afford biodiesel of babassu, castor oil and blends

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) degradation promoted by nanoparticulate zerovalent iron (nZVI) in aerobic suspensions

Reactive species generated by Fe0 oxidation promoted by O2 (catalyzed or not by ligands) are able to degrade contaminant compounds like the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The degradation of 2,4-D was influenced by the concentrations of zero valent iron (ZVI) and different ligands, as well as by pH. In the absence of ligands, the highest 2,4-D degradation rate was obtained at pH 3, while the highest percentage degradation (50%) was achieved at pH 5 after 120 min of reaction. Among the ligands studied (DTPA, EDTA, glycine, oxalate, and citrate), only ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) significantly enhanced oxidation of 2,4-D. This increase in oxidation was observed at all pH values tested (including neutral to alkaline conditions), indicating the feasibility of the technique for treatment of contaminated water. In the presence of EDTA, the oxidation rate was greater at pH 3 than at pH 5 or 7. Increasing the EDTA concentration increased the rate and percentage of 2,4-D degradation, however increasing the Fe0 concentration resulted in the opposite behavior. It was found that degradation of EDTA and 2,4-D occurred simultaneously, and that the new methodology avoided any 2,4-D removal by adsorption/coprecipitation. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Ocorrência de cristais em plantas medicinais utilizadas no tratamento da nefrolitíase: Paradoxo?

Nephrolithiasis (kidney stones) can be seen as a common clinical condition responsible for substantial economic, social and psychological costs, due to its high morbidity, especially since it affects adults in their productive phase. Its development in the urinary tract is a complex and multifactorial process. The majority of kidney stones are made of calcium oxalate. A lot of plants are used to treat nephrolithiasis and they often exhibit calcium oxalate crystals in the parts that are employed for this medicinal purpose, representing a possible risk. In this light, we performed a literature review via the databases Scielo, PubMed and Medline and found 28 articles reporting the traditional use of plants in the treatment of nephrolithiasis. The occurrence of calcium oxalate crystals was indicated in 19 species. We argue that the use of these plants could give rise to adverse effects in people who are prone to form calcium oxalate stones in the kidney.

Nephrocalcinosis induced by hyperoxaluria in rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Mechanical properties of vulcanized natural rubber nanocomposites containing functional ceramic nanoparticles

Rubber nanocomposites containing different concentrations of ferroelectric and paramagnetic nanoparticles were fabricated. Nanostructures of ferroelectric potassium strontium niobate and paramagnetic nickel-zinc ferrite were synthesized using a modified polyol method. The nanoparticle characterization was carried out by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, showing that the materials were produced with nanometer dimensions, specific crystallinity and microstrain. Mechanical tests such as hardness type Shore A, stress-strain and compression resistance were performed. They showed that increasing the concentration of nanoparticles enhance the rigidity of vulcanized films of natural rubber and this change is more pronounce for the nanocomposites formed with ferrite nanoparticles, likely due to the effect of its morphological and surface properties. © 2013 by American Scientific Publishers.

Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic constraints on the nature of the mantle sources involved in the genesis of the high-Ti tholeiites from northern Paraná Continental Flood Basalts (Brazil)

There has been little research on geochemistry and isotopic compositions in tholeiites of the Northern region from the Paraná Continental Flood Basalts (PCFB), one of the largest continental provinces of the world. In order to examine the mantle sources involved in the high-Ti (Pitanga and Paranapanema) basalt genesis, we studied Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic systematics, and major, minor and incompatible trace element abundances. The REE patterns of the investigated samples (Pitanga and Paranapanema magma type) are similar (parallel to) to those of Island Arc Basalts' REE patterns. The high-Ti basalts investigated in this study have initial (133Ma) 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.70538-0.70642, 143Nd/144Nd of 0.51233-0.51218, 206Pb/204Pb of 17.74-18.25, 207Pb/204Pb of 15.51-15.57, and 208Pb/204Pb of 38.18-38.45. These isotopic compositions do not display any correlation with Nb/Th, Nb/La or P2O5/K2O ratios, which also reflect that these rocks were not significantly affected by low-pressure crustal contamination. The incompatible trace element ratios and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions of the PCFB tholeiites are different to those found in Tristan da Cunha ocean island rocks, showing that this plume did not play a substantial role in the PCFB genesis. This interpretation is corroborated by previously published osmium isotopic data (initial γOs values range from+1.0 to+2.0 for high-Ti basalts), which also preclude basalt generation by melting of ancient subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The geochemical composition of the northern PCFB may be explained through the involvement of fluids and/or small volume melts related to metasomatic processes. In this context, we propose that the source of these magmas is a mixture of sublithospheric peridotite veined and/or interlayered with mafic components (e.g., pyroxenites or eclogites). The sublithospheric mantle (dominating the osmium isotopic compositions) was very probably enriched by fluids and/or magmas related to the Neoproterozoic subduction processes. This sublithospheric mantle region may have been frozen and coupled to the base of the Parana basin lithospheric plate above which the Paleozoic subsidence and subsequent Early Cretaceous magmatism occurred. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Rietveld refinement, morphology and optical properties of (Ba 1-xSrx)MoO4 crystals

In this article, the structural refinement, morphology and optical properties of barium strontium molybdate [(Ba1-x Sr x )MoO4 with x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1] crystals, synthesized by the co-precipitation (drop-by-drop) method, are reported. The crystals obtained were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinement, and Fourier transform-Raman (FT-Raman) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopies. The shapes of the crystals were observed by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The optical properties were investigated using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. XRD patterns, Rietveld refinement, and FT-Raman and FT-IR spectra showed that all of the crystals are monophasic with a scheelite-type tetragonal structure. The refined lattice parameters and atomic positions were employed to model the [BaO8], [SrO8] and [MoO4] clusters in the tetragonal lattices. The FE-SEM images indicate that increased x content produces a decrease in the crystal size and modifications in the crystal shape. UV-Vis spectra indicated a decrease in the optical band gap with an increase in x in the (Ba1-x Sr x )MoO4 crystals. Finally, a decrease in the intensity of PL emission is apparent with an increase in x up to 0.75 in the (Ba1-x Sr x )MoO4 crystal lattice when excited by a wavelength of 350nm, probably associated with the degree of structural order-disorder. © 2013 International Union of Crystallography Printed in Singapore - all rights reserved.

Litíase urinária e hipercalciúria idiopática: importância da avaliação da ingestão alimentar

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Caracteres estruturais e dimensão fractal da folha de espécies de Arachis e sua relação com a cercosporiose

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeito da radioterapia sobre o estado nutricional, gasto energético e níveis corpóreos de minerais em pacientes com câncer de cabeça e pescoço

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)