Estudos de pré-formulação de cápsulas gelatinosas duras contendo formulação de extrato de Gymnema sylvestre em pó

Gymnema sylvestre extract (GSE) is a plant product widely used as an adjuvant in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and commercially available as a powder. Owing to its low flowability, the manufacturing of hard gelatin capsules containing GSE faces specific problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the best excipient (starch, lactose or microcrystalline cellulose) for hard gelatin capsules containing GSE. The technological properties such us bulk density (ρβ); tapped density (ρt); inter-particle porosity (Ie); Carr index (CI); Hausner ratio (HR); loss on drying (%LOD) and particle size distribution (%Pf) of the various GSE mixtures were investigated with the aim of identifying the best excipient. The need for lubricants (talc/magnesium stearate) was also assessed. GSE was characterized as a fine powder with more than 50% of its particles between 0.149mm to 0.250mm; furthermore, CI=25.6%; RH=1.3 and Ie = 25.6% and, as expected with such properties, it showed poor flowability. All the excipients investigated were able to change the technological properties of GSE and the powder mixture containing microcrystalline cellulose gave the best results.

Concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn in tropical soils amended with sewage sludge and composted sewage sludge

Sewage sludge may be used as an agricultural fertilizer, but the practice has been criticized because sludge may contain trace elements and pathogens. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of total and pseudototal extractants of Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn, and to compare the results with the bioavailable concentrations of these elements to maize and sugarcane in a soil that was amended with sewage sludge for 13 consecutive years and in a separate soil that was amended a single time with sewage sludge and composted sewage sludge. The 13-year amendment experiment involved 3 rates of sludge (5, 10, and 20 t ha-1). The one-time amendment experiment involved treatments reflecting 50, 100, and 200 % of values stipulated by current legislation. The metal concentrations extracted by aqua regia (AR) were more similar to those obtained by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 3052 than to those obtained by EPA3051, and the strongest correlation was observed between pseudo(total) concentrations extracted by AR and EPA3052 and bioavailable concentrations obtained by Mehlich III. An effect of sewage sludge amendment on the concentrations of heavy metals was only observed in samples from the 13-year experiment. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Comparative study of the topical effectiveness of the andiroba oil (Carapa guianensis) and DEET 50% as repellent for Aedes sp

O DEET (N, N-dietil-3-metilbenzamida) é hoje o repelente mais efetivo disponível, porém, seu uso pode apresentar importantes efeitos colaterais tópicos e sistêmicos. Alguns compostos botânicos, como a Andiroba (Carapa guianensis), têm demonstrado propriedades repelentes a um baixo custo e baixa toxicidade. Quatro voluntários hígidos submeteram seus antebraços recobertos com óleo de Andiroba a 100%, DEET 50% (controle positivo), óleo de soja refinado, óleo de Andiroba 15% e na ausência de produtos (controles negativos), diretamente a picadas de fêmeas saudáveis de Aedes sp. Foram aferidos os tempos da primeira e terceira picadas. Os resultados mostraram que a mediana da primeira picada nos antebraços sem produto foi 17.5s e a terceira picada, 40.0s. No óleo de soja, as picadas ocorreram em 60.0s e 101.5s. No óleo de Andiroba 100%, em 56.0s e 142.5s. Com Andiroba 15%, em 63.0s e 97.5s. Usando DEET 50% não houve picadas após 3600s na maioria dos experimentos (p < 0.001 Wilcoxon). O óleo de Andiroba 100% comparado ao óleo de soja, antebraço sem produto e óleo de Andiroba 15%, mostrou discreta superioridade (p < 0.001 Wilcoxon). Concluímos que o óleo puro de Andiroba apresenta efeito repelente discreto contra picada de Aedes sp., sendo significativamente inferior ao DEET 50%.

Viral infections in workers in hospital and research laboratory settings: a comparative review of infection modes and respective biosafety aspects

Objectives: To compare modes and sources of infection and clinical and biosafety aspects of accidental viral infections in hospital workers and research laboratory staff reported in scientific articles. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scirus, and Scielo were searched (to December 2008) for reports of accidental viral infections, written in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or German; the authors' personal file of scientific articles and references from the articles retrieved in the initial search were also used. Systematic review was carried out with inclusion criteria of presence of accidental viral infection's cases information, and exclusion criteria of absence of information about the viral etiology, and at least probable mode of infection.Results: One hundred and forty-one scientific articles were obtained, 66 of which were included in the analysis. For arboviruses, 84% of the laboratory infections had aerosol as the source; for alphaviruses alone, aerosol exposure accounted for 94% of accidental infections. of laboratory arboviral infections, 15.7% were acquired percutaneously, whereas 41.6% of hospital infections were percutaneous. For airborne viruses, 81% of the infections occurred in laboratories, with hantavirus the leading causative agent. Aerosol inhalation was implicated in 96% of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infections, 99% of hantavirus infections, and 50% of coxsackievirus infections, but infective droplet inhalation was the leading mode of infection for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and the mucocutaneous mode of infection was involved in the case of infection with influenza B. For blood-borne viruses, 92% of infections occurred in hospitals and 93% of these had percutaneous mode of infection, while among laboratory infections 77% were due to infective aerosol inhalation. Among blood-borne virus infections there were six cases of particular note: three cases of acute hepatitis following hepatitis C virus infection with a short period of incubation, one laboratory case of human immunodeficiency virus infection through aerosol inhalation, one case of hepatitis following hepatitis G virus infection, and one case of fulminant hepatitis with hepatitis B virus infection following exposure of the worker's conjunctiva to hepatitis B virus e antigen-negative patient saliva. of the 12 infections with viruses with preferential mucocutaneous transmission, seven occurred percutaneously, aerosol was implicated as a possible source of infection in two cases, and one atypical infection with Macacine herpesvirus 1 with fatal encephalitis as the outcome occurred through a louse bite. One outbreak of norovirus infection among hospital staff had as its probable mode of infection the ingestion of inocula spread in the environment by fomites.Conclusions: The currently accepted and practiced risk analysis of accidental viral infections based on the conventional dynamics of infection of the etiological agents is insufficient to cope with accidental viral infections in laboratories and to a lesser extent in hospitals, where unconventional modes of infection are less frequently present but still have relevant clinical and potential epidemiological consequences. Unconventional modes of infection, atypical clinical development, or extremely severe cases are frequently present together with high viral loads and high virulence of the agents manipulated in laboratories. In hospitals by contrast, the only possible association of atypical cases is with the individual resistance of the worker. Current standard precaution practices are insufficient to prevent most of the unconventional infections in hospitals analyzed in this study; it is recommended that special attention be given to flaviviruses in these settings. (C) 2011 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of EDTA and EDTA-T brushing on the removal of root surface smear layer.

The purpose of this study was to compare the removal of root surface smear layer following active application of EDTA gel and EDTA-T (texapon) gel in different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 24%), using scanning electron microscopy. A total of 220 dentin blocks obtained from the root surfaces of extracted teeth were divided into 3 groups: Group I - (control) application of saline solution (n = 20); Group II - EDTA gel (pH 7.0) was applied in the following concentrations: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 24% (n = 100); Group III - EDTA-T gel (pH 7.0) applied in the same concentrations described above (n = 100). The photomicrographs were evaluated by one calibrated examiner using a smear layer removal index and following statistical analysis (Kruskal-Wallis test). The results demonstrated that the specimens treated with EDTA and EDTA-T gel presented a better smear layer removal than the control group (p < 0.01); no statistically significant differences were observed between the EDTA and EDTA-T groups and between the concentrations tested (Mann-Whitney, p > 0.05). Within the limits of this study, it can be concluded that all treatment modalities effectively removed the smear layer from the root surface. The addition of texapon into the EDTA gel formulation did not increase its effectiveness.