Development of an Antiviral Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Database (avMpNp Database) from Biodiversity.

The construction of compound databases (DB) is a strategy for the rational search of bioactive compounds and drugs for new and old diseases. In order to bring greater impact to drug discovery, we propose the development of a DB of bioactive antiviral compounds. Several research groups have presented evidence of the antiviral activity of medicinal plants and compounds isolated from these plants.

A Distance-Learning Course to Improve Drug-Dispensing Behaviors Among Brazilian Community Pharmacists.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a distance-learning course in the training of pharmacists in drug dispensing. This interventional study was carried out with community pharmacists throughout Brazil. A 12-week distance-learning course was conducted.

Cholesterol efflux capacity does not associate with coronary calcium, plaque vulnerability, and telomere length in healthy octogenarians.

Several studies have revealed that traditional risk factors are less effective in predicting CVD risk in the elderly, suggesting the need to identify new biomarkers. Here, we evaluated the association between serum cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC), an atheroprotective property of HDL recently identified as a novel marker of CVD risk, and atherosclerotic burden in a cohort of very old, healthy individuals. Serum CEC values were not significantly correlated either with calcium score or with markers of vulnerable plaque, such as positive remodeling, hypodensity, spotty calcification, or napking-ring sign.

Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 (PCSK9) Inhibitors and Incident Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis With Over 96,000 Patient-Years.

Objective: Like mutations with loss of function in the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) gene, inhibitors of PCSK9 (PCSK9i) may potentially favor the manifestation of diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: A meta-analysis of phase 2/3 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessed PCSK9i versus placebo in the primary hypercholesterolemia setting. Statins and ezetimibe were used in 98.

TOXIC EXPOSURES IN CHILDREN INVOLVING LEGALLY AND ILLEGALLY COMMERCIALIZED HOUSEHOLD SANITIZERS.

Objectives: To analyze and to compare clinical repercussions of accidents involving legally and illegally commercialized household sanitizers in children under 7 years of age.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to collect data from electronic database of a regional Poison Control Center during one year. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive non-parametric statistics and association tests.

Sarcopenia, but not excess weight or increased caloric intake, is associated with coronary subclinical atherosclerosis in the very elderly.

Background And Aims: Excess weight is a widespread condition related to increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Sarcopenia is a catabolic pathway common of the aging process and also associated with CHD. In the elderly, both changes occur concurrently and it remains unclear the relative contribution on CHD risk.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction risk in the very elderly.

Background: Despite the high incidence and mortality of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) among the very elderly, risk markers for this condition remain poorly defined. This study was designed to identify independent markers of STEMI among individuals carefully selected for being healthy or manifesting STEMI in < 24 h.

Methods: We enrolled participants aged 80 years or older of whom 50 were STEMI patients and 207 had never manifested cardiovascular diseases.

The Effect of Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol(®) ) on the Development of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and its Implications for Forensic Entomology.

This study investigated the potential effects of flunitrazepam (known as "date rape drug") on the developmental cycle of Chrysomya megacephala, an important forensic species, and their possible implications for the calculation of the PMI. A 1050 C. megacephala eggs were divided into five groups with seven replications each.

Exclusive breastfeeding practices reported by mothers and the introduction of additional liquids.

Aim: To assess the concept of exclusive breastfeeding held by nursing women by comparing the period they consider that they perform it and the infants' age at the introduction of additional liquids.

Method: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted with 309 women who delivered babies at a university hospital in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil. The data were subjected to descriptive analysis; the variables of interest were crossed using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, the chi-square test and Fisher's exact test.

Bone quality associated with daily intake of coffee: a biochemical, radiographic and histometric study.

Caffeine induces loss of calcium and influences the normal development of bone. This study investigated the effects of coffee on bone metabolism in rats by biochemical measurement of calcium, bone densitometry and histometry. Male rats, born of female treated daily with coffee and with coffee intake since born, were anesthetized, subjected to extraction of the upper right incisor, and sacrificed 7, 21 and 42 days after surgery.

Osteogenic potential of autogenous bone associated with bone marrow osteoblastic cells in bony defects: a histomorphometric study.

Purpose: Because of limitations of autogenous grafts, allografts, xenografts, alloplasts, and hydroxyapatite as graft materials, researchers have been using bone tissue engineering as a strategy for bone regeneration. The aim of this work was to study the effect of bone tissue engineering, associating bone marrow osteoblastic cells, and autogenous bone in defects created by dental extraction in rats.

Materials And Methods: Eighty male rats from 250 to 300 g were anesthetized, submitted to the extraction of the superior incisor, and divided in control group (C), implanted with osteoblastic cells (OC), autogenous bone (AB), and osteoblastic cells + autogenous bone (OC + AB).

[Molecular mechanism of thyroid hormone action].

Thyroid hormones (TH) are involved in normal differentiation, growth, and metabolism in several tissues of all vertebrates. Their actions are mediated by the TH receptors (TRs), members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily. These receptors are transcription factors that bind to DNA on specific sequences, the TR response element (TREs), in promoters of target genes.