A Single Intraoperative Sub-Tenon's Capsule Injection of Triamcinolone and Ciprofloxacin in a Controlled-Release System for Cataract Surgery

PURPOSE. To compare intraoperative injection of triamcinolone and ciprofloxacin in a controlled-release system (DuoCat) with prednisolone and ciprofloxacin eye drops after cataract surgery.METHODS. In this randomized, double-masked, controlled trial, a total of 135 patients undergoing cataract surgery were randomly allocated to two groups: 67 patients treated after surgery with prednisolone 1% and ciprofloxacin 3% eye drops four times daily (week 1), three times daily (week 2), twice daily (week 3), and once daily (week 4) and 0.3% ciprofloxacin drops four times daily (weeks 1 and 2), and 68 patients treated at the end of surgery with a sub-Tenon's injection of 25 mg triamcinolone and 2 mg ciprofloxacin in biodegradable microspheres. The patients were examined on postoperative days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28. The main outcome measures were postoperative anterior chamber cell and flare, intraocular pressure (IOP), lack of anti-inflammatory response, and presence of infection.RESULTS. No significant differences were observed between the groups in anterior chamber cell (P > 0.14) and flare (P > 0.02) at any postoperative visits. The mean (99% confidence interval) differences in IOP between the prednisolone and triamcinolone groups on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 were -0.4 mm Hg (-2.1 to 1.3), 0.0 mm Hg (-1.4 to 1.3), 0.0 mm Hg (-1.1 to 1.1), -0.2 mm Hg (-1.1 to 0.8), and -0.1 mm Hg (-1.1 to 0.9), respectively. No patient had a postoperative infection.CONCLUSIONS. One injection of DuoCat had a therapeutic response and ocular tolerance that were equivalent to conventional eye drops in controlling inflammation after cataract surgery. (Clinical-Trials. gov number, NCT00431028.) (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2009; 50: 3041-3047) DOI: 10.1167/iovs.08-2920

Prior exposure to stress delays extinction but does not modify reinstatement of nicotine-induced conditioned place preference

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

The reinstatement of amphetamine-induced place preference is long-lasting and related to decreased expression of AMPA receptors in the nucleus accumbens

A great deal of effort has been devoted to elucidating the psychopharmacology underlying addiction and relapse. Long-term neuroadaptations in glutamate transmission seem to be of great relevance for relapse to stimulant abuse. In this study, we investigated amphetamine-induced conditioned place preference during adolescence and the reinstatement of the conditioned behavior following a priming injection of the drug 1 day (adolescence), 30 days (early adulthood) and 60 days (adulthood) after the extinction test. The nucleus accumbens was dissected immediately after the reinstatement test to examine alterations in GluR1 and NR1 subunits of glutamatergic receptors. Our results showed that a priming injection of amphetamine was able to reinstate the CPP 1 and 30 days after extinction. However, it failed to reinstate the conditioned response after 60 days. GluR1 levels were decreased on days 1 and 30 but not on day 60 while NR1 levels were unaltered in the reinstatement test. Using a relapse model we found that reinstatement of amphetamine-induced conditioning place preference during adolescence is long lasting and persists through early adulthood. Decreased levels of GluR1 in the nucleus accumbens might be related to the reinstatement of amphetamine-induced conditioning place preference. (C) 2008 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Paracoccidioides brasifiensis killing by IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and GM-CSF activated human neutrophils: role for oxygen metabolites

Paracoccidioidomycosis, a deep mycosis endemic in Latin America, is a chronic granulomatous disease caused by the fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Phagocytic cells play a critical role against the fungus and several papers show the effects of activator and suppressive cytokines on macrophage and monocyte functions. However, the studies focusing on polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) antifungal functions are scarcer. Thus, the objective of the present paper was to assess the capacity of human PMNs to kill virulent P brasiliensis strain in vitro, before and after priming with different cytokines. Moreover, the involvement of oxygen metabolites in this activity was evaluated. Nonactivated cells failed to exhibit antifungal activity. However, when these cells were IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha or GM-CSF activated, a significative fungicidal activity was detected. This process was significantly inhibited when P brasiliensis challenge occurred in presence of catalase (CAT - a scavenger of H2O2) and superoxide dismutase (SOD - a scavenger of superoxide anion). From these results it is concluded that cytokines activation is required for P brasiliensis killing by human PMNs, and that H2O2 and Superoxide anion participate as effectors molecules in this process.

Conception rate in Holstein cows treated with GnRH or hCG on the fifth day post artificial insemination during summer

Vacas da raça Holandesas em lactação (n=158) aos 213±112 dias de lactação e produção de 26±9kg leite/dia, foram aleatoriamente distribuídas em três grupos: controle (GC, n=52, salina); GnRH (GG, n=55, 100mcg de gonadorelina); e hCG (GH, n=51, 2500UI de hCG) aplicado no dia 5 após a inseminação artificial (IA). A temperatura retal foi verificada no momento da IA, e as amostras de sangue coletadas nos dias 5, 7 e 12 após a IA. A concepção foi determinada entre os dias 42 e 49 após IA. As concentrações séricas de progesterona (P4 - ng/ml, média±EPM) para GC, GG, e GH foram, respectivamente: no dia 5: 2,7±0,4, 2,5±0,4 e 3,2±0,4; no dia 7: 4,8±0,4, 4,2±0,4 e 5,7±0,5; e no dia 12 após a IA: 5,2±0,4, 6,9±0,4 e 8,5±0,5. O aumento proporcional na concentração sérica de P4 entre os dias 5 e 7 após IA (GC: 178%, GG: 168%, e GH: 178%) sugere que os tratamentos não induziram efeito luteotrópico no corpo lúteo (CL) existente. O aumento na P4 sérica entre os dias 7 e 12 nos animais tratados com GnRH ou hCG (GG: 164% e GH: 149%, P<0,01) em relação aos animais controle (GC: 18%, P=0,31), sugere a indução de novo CL. Os tratamentos com GnRH ou hCG aumentaram as taxas de concepção nas vacas com temperatura retal abaixo de 39,7°C (GC: 10,1%, n=26; GG: 36,8%, n=27 e GH: 32,8%, n=21), mas não em vacas com temperatura retal acima de 39,7°C (15,2% n=26; 17,8%, n=28 e 24,4%, n=30). Os resultados sugerem que a alta temperatura corporal pode mascarar os efeitos positivos do tratamento com GnRH ou hCG no dia 5 após a IA, na concepção.

Osmocondicionamento de sementes de salsa (Petroselinum sativum Hoffm.) em diferentes potenciais hídricos

A germinação de sementes de salsa (Petroselinum sativum Hoffm.) é lenta e desuniforme, sendo a contagem do teste padrão de germinação recomendada aos 10 e 28 dias e a emergência em campo é relativamente longa, justificando o uso de técnicas que acelerem e uniformizem o processo germinativo: um método promissor é o osmocondicionamento. No presente trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos dos diferentes potenciais de osmocondicionamento, com PEG 6000, na germinação de sementes de salsa e identificar o potencial osmótico ótimo para aumentar a germinação destas sementes. Sementes das cultivares Lisa e Portuguesa de dois lotes, adquiridas no comércio local foram osmocondicionadas pelo método de imersão direta das mesmas em soluções aquosas com potencial hídrico: 0,0, -0,5, -1,0 e -1,5 MPa, obtidos com a adição de PEG 6.000, sob aeração constante a 25ºC por 144 horas, como testemunha utilizaram-se sementes não osmocondicionadas. As variáveis analisadas foram: porcentagem de germinação (10 e 28 dias), velocidade de germinação e índice de velocidade de germinação. O osmocondicionamento aumenta a porcentagem e a velocidade de germinação de sementes de salsa, sendo que, o potencial osmótico indicado situa-se entre -1,0 e -1,5 MPa.

High expression of human monocyte iNOS mRNA induced by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is not associated with increase in NO production

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

Neonatal BCG Immunization Followed by DNAhsp65 Boosters: Highly Immunogenic but not Protective Against Tuberculosis - a Paradoxical Effect of the Vector?

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

INFLUENCE of DIFFERENT SURFACE CONDITIONING PROTOCOLS on MICROTENSILE BOND STRENGTH of SELF-ADHESIVE RESIN CEMENTS TO DENTIN

Statement of problem. According to manufacturers, bonding with self-adhesive resin cements can be achieved without any pretreatment steps such as etching, priming, or bonding. However, the benefit of saving time with these simplified luting systems may be realized at the expense of compromising the bonding capacity.Purpose. The purpose of this study was to assess whether different dentin conditioning protocols influence the bond performance of self-adhesive resin cements to dentin.Material and methods. Flat dentin surfaces from 48 human molars were divided into 4 groups (n=12): 1) control, no conditioning; 2) H(3)PO(4), etching with 37% H(3)PO(4) for 15 seconds; 3) SEBond, bonding with self-etching primer adhesive (Clearfil SE Bond); and 4) EDTA, etching with 0.1M EDTA for 60 seconds. The specimens from each dentin pre-treatment were bonded using the self-adhesive cements RelyX Unicem, Maxcem or Multilink Sprint (n=4). The resin-cement-dentin specimens were stored in water at 37 degrees C for 7 days, and serially sectioned to produce beam specimens of 1.0 mm(2) cross-sectional area. Microtensile bond strength (mu TBS) testing was performed at 1.0 mm/min. Data (MPa) were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA and Tukey multiple comparisons test (alpha=.05). Fractured specimens were examined with a stereomicroscope (x40) and classified as adhesive, mixed, or cohesive. Additional bonded interfaces were evaluated under a scanning electron microscope (SEM).Results. Cement-dentin mu TBS was affected by the dentin conditioning approach (P <.001). RelyX Unicem attained statistically similar bond strengths to all pre-treated dentin surfaces. H(3)PO(4)-etching prior to the application of Maxcem resulted in bond strength values that were significantly higher than the other groups. The lowest mu TBS were attained when luting Multilink Sprint per manufacturers' recommendations, while H(3)PO(4)-etching produced the highest values followed by Clearfil SE bonding and EDTA. SEM observations disclosed an enhanced potential of the self-adhesive cements to form a hybrid layer when applied following manufacturer's instructions.Conclusions. When evaluated self-adhesive resin cements are used, selectively etching dentin with H(3)PO(4) prior to luting results in the most effective bonding. (J Prosthet Dent 2011;105:227-235)

Searching for planar signatures in WMAP

We search for planar deviations of statistical isotropy in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data by applying a recently introduced angular-planar statistics both to full-sky and to masked temperature maps, including in our analysis the effect of the residual foreground contamination and systematics in the foreground removing process as sources of error. We confirm earlier findings that full-sky maps exhibit anomalies at the planar (l) and angular (l) scales (l; l) = (2; 5); (4; 7); and (6; 8), which seem to be due to unremoved foregrounds since this features are present in the full-sky map but not in the masked maps. on the other hand, our test detects slightly anomalous results at the scales (l; l) = (10; 8) and (2; 9) in the masked maps but not in the full-sky one, indicating that the foreground cleaning procedure (used to generate the full-sky map) could not only be creating false anomalies but also hiding existing ones. We also find a significant trace of an anomaly in the full-sky map at the scale (l; l) = (10; 5), which is still present when we consider galactic cuts of 18.3% and 28.4%. As regards the quadrupole (l = 2), we find a coherent over-modulation over the whole celestial sphere, for all full-sky and cut-sky maps. Overall, our results seem to indicate that current CMB maps derived from WMAP data do not show significant signs of anisotropies, as measured by our angular-planar estimator. However, we have detected a curious coherence of planar modulations at angular scales of the order of the galaxy's plane, which may be an indication of residual contaminations in the full-and cut-sky maps.

Germinação de sementes de Stryphnodendron Mart. osmocondicionadas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Representação social e estereótipo: a zona muda das representações sociais

Neste artigo, a partir da definição do conceito de zona muda das representações sociais, descrevemos as técnicas de substituição e de descontextualização normativa desenvolvidas pela Escola de Aix-en-Provence para revelar as representações escondidas ou mascaradas em função de sua inadequação às normas sociais vigentes no grupo de referência dos respondentes de questionários. A seguir, relatamos os primeiros estudos realizados com a intenção de revelar elementos representacionais da zona muda de representações e os estudos atuais sobre esse conceito e descrevemos e discutimos três possíveis explicações para a mudança de representações em situações de substituição ou de descontextualização normativa: a projeção de representações condenáveis pelas normas sociais a outros grupos de representação quando os sujeitos falam por outros grupos e não por si mesmo; o efeito da transparência de representações quando são descritas as representações de grupos conhecidos; o efeito da influência social de normas ou de representações proeminentes no grupo de pertença.

Identificação de zonas mortas da cóclea por meio do teste TEN

O audiograma ou o relato do paciente não é suficiente para determinar a presença ou não de zonas mortas na cóclea (ZMC), nem identificar sua extensão. OBJETIVO: Investigar, utilizando o teste TEN, ZMC de indivíduos com perda auditiva neurossensorial (PANS). CEDALVI/ HRAC-USP-Bauru, de agosto de 2003 a fevereiro de 2004. TIPO DE ESTUDO: Estudo de coorte contemporânea com corte transversal. Casuística e Métodos: O TEN foi aplicado nos grupos G1 (5 mulheres com limiares tonais aéreos dentro do padrão de normalidade); G2 (4 mulheres e 5 homens com PANS moderada plana); G3 (19 mulheres e 24 homens com PANS com o grau variando entre leve a profundo). RESULTADOS: Para G1, o valor de TEN para eliminar o tom de teste foi, em média, próximo ao limiar absoluto para todas as freqüências. Não foi observada ZMC em nenhuma das orelhas testadas do G2. Para as 76 orelhas do G3, 6 não apresentaram indício de ZM. CONCLUSÕES: O TEN é efetivo para indicar ZMC em indivíduos com PANS descendente. Há evidência de diferença na detecção do tom puro na presença de ruído entre indivíduos com PANS em altas freqüências e com PANS plana, pois se observou diferença significativa entre o limiar mascarado e absoluto apenas para PANS descendentes e não para as planas.

Biorregulador e pré-condicionamento osmótico na germinação de sementes e no crescimento inicial da muda de carobinha (Jacaranda decurrens subsp. symmetrifoliolata Farias & Proença) - Bignoniaceae

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effects of nandrolone decanoate on the neuromuscular junction of rats submitted to swimming

This study addressed the effects of nandrolone decanoate (ND) on contractile properties and muscle fiber characteristics of rats submitted to swimming. Male Wistar rats were grouped in sedentary (S), swimming (Sw), sedentary+ND (SND), and swimming+ND (SwND), six animals per group. ND (3 mg/kg) was injected (subcutaneously) 5 days/week, for 4 weeks. Swimming consisted of 60-min sessions (load 2%), 5 days/week, for 4 weeks. After this period, the sciatic nerve extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle was isolated for myographic recordings. Fatigue resistance was assessed by the percent (%) decline of 180 direct tetanic contractions (30 Hz). Safety margin of synaptic transmission was determined from the resistance to the blockade of indirectly evoked twitches (0.5 Hz) induced by pancuronium (5 to 9 x 10(-7) M). EDL muscles were also submitted to histological and histochemical analysis (haematoxylin-eosin (HE); nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR)). Significant differences were detected by two-way ANOVA (p<0.05). ND did not change body mass, fatigue resistance or kinetic properties of indirect twitches in either sedentary or swimming rats. In contrast, ND reduced the safety margin of synaptic transmission in sedentary animals (SND=53.3+/-4.7% vs. S=75.7+/-2.0%), but did not affect the safety margin in the swimming rats (SwND=75.81+/-3.1% vs. Sw=71.0+/-4.0%). No significant difference in fiber type proportions or diameters was observed in EDL muscle of any experimental group. These results indicate that ND does not act as an ergogenic reinforcement in rats submitted to 4 weeks of swimming. on the other hand, this study revealed an important toxic effect of ND, that it reduces the safety margin of synaptic transmission in sedentary animals. Such an effect is masked when associated with physical exercise. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.