Effects of two protease inhibitors from Bauhinia bauhinoides with different specificity towards gut enzymes of Nasutitermes corniger and its survival

Two recombinant protease inhibitors from Bauhinia bauhinioides, rBbKI (kallikrein inhibitor) and rBbCI (cruzipain inhibitor) were evaluated for insecticidal activity against workers and soldiers of Nasutitermes corniger (order: Isoptera; family: Termitidae) through the inhibitors' effect on the insect's gut enzymes. The inhibitor rBbKI was more effective than rBbCI in inhibiting the termite's gut enzymes. The kallikrein inhibitor showed termiticidal activity in workers with an LC₅₀ of 0.9 mg mL^-1 after 4 days. Conversely, rBbKI did not affect the survival of soldiers and rBbCI did not show termiticidal activity against N. corniger. The two inhibitors showed different specificity towards the termite's gut enzymes, representing interesting tools to characterize N. corniger enzymes. The different effects of rBbKI and rBbCI on the termite's enzymes and survival may be linked to slight structural differences between these inhibitors.

Avaliação de Cimentos de Ionômero de Vidro Usados no Tratamento Restaurador Atraumático em Dentes Decíduos: um Estudo Clínico Randomizado

O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o desempenho clinico de dois cimentos de ionômero de vidro (CIV) utilizados no Tratamento Restaurador Atraumático (ART) em dentes decíduos. Foi realizado ensaio clínico randomizado controlado (REBEC RBR-4nwmk4) com amostra composta por crianças de 2 a 6 anos de idade matriculadas em creches do município de Teresina-PI (CEP-UFPI Parecer 708718). Dois grupos de tratamento foram formados: Controle (CIV de alta viscosidade Ketac Molar©) e Teste (CIV convencional indicado para ART Vitro Molar©). As restaurações foram realizadas na própria creche por duas cirurgiãs-dentistas previamente treinadas. Após seis meses, as restaurações foram examinadas de acordo com os critérios de avaliação de ART por outra cirurgiã- dentista treinada, calibrada e cega para o tipo de material. Das 462 crianças que apresentavam cárie dentária, 347 (75,1%) possuíam lesões com indicação para ART. Foram realizadas 786 restaurações inseridas de forma consecutiva nos grupos. Após seis meses obteve-se para as restaurações do grupo Teste e Controle, uma taxa de sucesso de 80% e 89,8%, respectivamente. A sobrevida foi associada ao tipo de cavidade (p0,001) e ao tipo de material (p0,006), maior taxa de sucesso para restaurações Classe I (93,6%) e para o CIV de alta viscosidade. Concluiu-se que, após seis meses, as restaurações realizadas com CIV de alta viscosidade apresentaram maior sobrevida que as restaurações com CIV convencional indicado para ART.Palavras-chave: Dental Atraumatic Restorative Treatment. Glass Ionomer Cements. Deciduous Tooth.

Evidence for protective effect of lipoic acid and desvenlafaxine on oxidative stress in a model depression in mice

Oxidative stress is implicated in the neurobiology of depression. Here we investigated oxidative alterations in brain areas of animals submitted to the model of depression induced by corticosterone (CORT) and the effects of the antioxidant compound alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) alone or associated with the antidepressant desvenlafaxine (DVS) in these alterations. Female mice received vehicle or CORT (20 mg/kg) during 14 days. From the 15th to 21st days different animals received further administrations of: vehicle, DVS (10 or 20 mg/kg), ALA (100 or 200 mg/kg), or the combinations of DVS10+ALA100, DVS20+ALA100, DVS10+ALA200, or DVS20+ALA200. Twenty-four hours after the last drug administration prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC) and striatum (ST) were dissected for the determination of the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (LP) levels. CORT significantly increased SOD activity in the PFC and HC, decreased GSH levels in the HC and increased LP in all brain areas studied when compared to saline-treated animals. Decrements of SOD activity were observed in all groups and brain areas studied when compared to controls and CORT. The hippocampal decrease in GSH was reversed by ALA100, DVS10+ALA100, DVS20+ALA100 and DVS20+ALA200. The same DVS+ALA combination groups presented increased levels of GSH in the PFC and ST. The greater GSH levels were observed in the PFC, HC and ST of DVS20+ALA200 mice. LP was reversed in the groups ALA200 (PFC), DVS10+ALA100, DVS20+ALA100 (PFC, HC and ST), and DVS20+ALA200 (PFC, HC). Our findings contribute to the previous preclinical evidences implicating ALA as a promising agent for augmentation therapy in depression.

Reversal of corticosterone-induced BDNF alterations by the natural antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid alone and combined with desvenlafaxine: Emphasis on the neurotrophic hypothesis of depression

Brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is linked to the pathophysiology of depression. We hypothesized that BDNF is one of the neurobiological pathways related to the augmentation effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) when associated with antidepressants. Female mice were administered vehicle or CORT 20mg/kg during 14 days. From the 15th to 21st days the animals were divided in groups that were further administered: vehicle, desvenlafaxine (DVS) 10 or 20mg/kg, ALA 100 or 200mg/kg or the combinations of DVS10+ALA100, DVS20+ALA100, DVS10+ALA200 or DVS20+ALA200. ALA or DVS alone or in combination reversed CORT-induced increase in immobility time in the forced swimming test and decrease in sucrose preference, presenting, thus, an antidepressant-like effect. DVS10 alone reversed CORT-induced decrease in BDNF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HC) and striatum (ST). The same was observed in the HC and ST of ALA200 treated animals. The combination of DVS and ALA200 reversed CORT-induced alterations in BDNF and even, in some cases, increased the levels of this neurotrophin when compared to vehicle-treated animals in HC and ST. Taken together, these results suggest that the combination of the DVS+ALA may be valuable for treating conditions in which BDNF levels are decreased, such as depression.

Baupain, a plant cysteine proteinase that hinders thrombin-induced human platelet aggregation

Bauninia forficata is trivially known as cow paw, and popularly used in Brazil for treatment of diabetes mellitus. Denominated baupain a cysteine proteinase was purified from B. forficata leaves. In this study, we investigated the baupain effect on aggregation of isolated human platelets in vitro and the results show that baupain hinders thrombin - but not ADP- and collagen- induced platelet aggregation. With synthetic quenched-fluorescent peptides, the kinetics of the cleavage site of human proteinase-activated receptor 1 / 2 / 3 and 4 [PAR-1 / 2 / 3 and 4] by baupain was determined. In conclusion, similar to bromelain and papain, baupain hinders human platelets aggregation, probably through an unspecific cleavage in the Phe-Leu bond of PAR1.

The ambient intelligence for the sake of accessibility in residential projects: a proper study to the Brazilian scene

The concept of Ambient Intelligence consists of intuitive interfaces embedded in everyday objects that interact with the user and function in an integrated and discrete generating and transmitting information. This article has as objective to present applications that when focused on accessibility criteria, can contribute to the work of architects during the design of residential projects. In Brazil, pioneering projects are already being developed and the use of Ambient Intelligence systems are already widespread, both by private and public, however much care technologies developed in other countries.

Anticonvulsant action of Calotropis procera latex proteins

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R.Br. is a laticiferous plant belonging to the Apocynaceae family. C. procera latex proteins were evaluated with respect to anticonvulsant and sedative activity in mouse models of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-, pilocarpine-, and strychnine-induced convulsions or turning behavior and pentobarbital-induced sleep. In the strychnine- and pilocarpine-induced seizure models, C. procera latex proteins caused no significant alterations in latencies to convulsions and death, as compared with controls. In the PTZ-induced seizure model, administration of C. procera latex proteins in high doses (50 or 100mg/kg) and diazepam caused significant increases in latencies to convulsions and death. C. procera latex proteins (50 or 100mg/kg) and 2mg/kg diazepam caused a decrease in sleep latency and an increase in sleep time compared with the control group and groups treated with 5 or 10mg/kg. Our results suggest that C. procera latex proteins have a central nervous system-depressant activity as reflected in their potentiation of pentobarbital-induced sleeping time and their anticonvulsant action in the PTZ-induced seizure model.

Epidemiologia das infecções em queimaduras no nordeste do Brasil

As infecções hospitalares são complicações freqüentes, graves que comprometem a recuperação dos pacientes queimados. O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar o perfil epidemiológico e os principais microrganismos isolados de infecções em vítimas de queimaduras em Fortaleza/CE. Estudo observacional, longitudinal, prospectivo, utilizando dados secundários dos indivíduos atendidos no Centro de Tratamento de Queimados (CTQ) do Instituto Dr. José Frota (IJF) para tratamento de queimaduras, atendidos entre janeiro/ 2004 a abril/2006. 419 vítimas de queimaduras foram atendidas no período estudado, sendo maioria do sexo masculino (59,43%), procedente de Fortaleza (56,80%), com menos de três anos de idade (30,31%). Do total, 188 pacientes (44,88%) apresentaram queimaduras em 11 a 20% da superfície corporal queimada (SCQ). Foram notificados 175 casos de infecções hospitalares, sendo a infecção da corrente sangüínea a mais prevalente (77,14%), seguida da infecção respiratória (11,43%), do trato urinário (8,0%) e cutânea (2,86%). Os microorganismos mais comumente isolados foram Staphylococcus aureus (34,69%), Pseudomonas sp.(33,33%), Enterobacter sp.(14,29%), Escherichia coli (4,08%) e Klebsiella pneumoniae (3,40%). A faixa etária mais acometida foi abaixo de três anos, evidencia necessidade dos pais assegurarem a segurança de seus filhos em casa. Os microorganismos isolados ratificam o risco elevado das vítimas de queimaduras as infecções endógenas e exógenas.

Acute and topic anti-edematogenic fractions isolated from the seeds of Pterodon pubescens

We previously demonstrated that alcoholic extracts from Pterodon pubescens Benth. (Sucupira branca, Leguminosae) seeds exhibit anti-arthritic activity. In the present work we show that the oleaginous extract obtained from P. pubescens seeds (OEP) exhibits acute or topic anti-edematogenic activity when tested in carrageenan-induced paw edema or in croton oil-induced ear edema assays, respectively. Four fractions were obtained from OEP by sequential liquid-liquid extraction. The anti-edematogenic properties were predominant in the hexanic fraction, which was further fractionated by HPLC, yielding three sub-fractions (PF1.1, PF1.2 and PF1.3). PF1.1 and PF1.3 showed potent acute and topic anti-edematogenic activity. The PF1.2 sub-fraction, although not active in the carrageenan assay, exhibited a potent anti-edematogenic activity in the croton oil-induced ear edema. This sub-fraction shows a maximum efficacy similar to indometacin in a lower dose. The PF1.1 sub-fraction presented a complex mixture containing furane diterpene derivatives of vouacapan. PF1.2 consists of a single substance, geranylgeraniol, as determined by GC/MS and NMR, while PF1.3 contains farnesol.