Myocardial dysfunction in sepsis: a large, unsolved puzzle.

Sepsis has high incidence and mortality rates around the world. The role of cardiac depression in myocardial dysfunction during sepsis remains to be elucidated. This review attempts to summarize our understanding of the anatomical, histopathological, and pathophysiological mechanisms behind cardiac dysfunction.

Noble metal nanoparticles for biosensing applications.

In the last decade the use of nanomaterials has been having a great impact in biosensing. In particular, the unique properties of noble metal nanoparticles have allowed for the development of new biosensing platforms with enhanced capabilities in the specific detection of bioanalytes. Noble metal nanoparticles show unique physicochemical properties (such as ease of functionalization via simple chemistry and high surface-to-volume ratios) that allied with their unique spectral and optical properties have prompted the development of a plethora of biosensing platforms.

Protective effects of chronic green tea consumption on age-related neurodegeneration.

Dietary antioxidant compounds, due to their pivotal role in the modulation of cellular redox mechanisms, are gaining attention of researchers in the field of brain aging and related degenerative diseases. In this perspective, green tea (GT) can be an excellent resource, as it contains large amounts of brain-accessible polyphenols. Many of these compounds are monomeric catechins, which have been shown to exert antioxidant effects, acting directly as radical scavengers or metal-chelators.

Endoscopic treatment for gastric perforation using T-tag and a plastic protection chamber: a short-term survival study.

Context: The endoscopic gastric perforation is a consequence of some endoscopic procedures and now a way to manage abdominal organs. This is the reason why endoscopists are studying a safe endoscopic repair.

Objective: To evaluate an endoscopic closure method for the gastric opening in natural orifice transenteric surgery

Design: Short-term survival animal study.

Comparison of lactate values obtained from different sites and their clinical significance in patients with severe sepsis.

Context And Objective: The ideal site for lactate collection has not been clearly established. This study aimed to evaluate associations between lactate levels in arterial blood (Lart), peripheral venous blood (Lper) and central venous blood (Lcen) in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional analytical study in an tertiary university hospital.

Dietary assessment in the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study: comparing energy intake with energy expenditure.

The study aims to describe and compare two methods of energy intake assessment and one measure of energy expenditure applied in adolescents from a birth cohort. In a sub-sample of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort, followed up in 2006-7, information on intake was obtained through a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and three 24-hour-recalls (24hR), while energy expenditure was assessed using an accelerometer. Bland & Altman plots were used in the analyses in order to compare the methods.

Derepression of a baker's yeast strain for maltose utilization is associated with severe deregulation of HXT gene expression.

Aims: We undertook to improve an industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain by derepressing it for maltose utilization in the presence of high glucose concentrations.

Methods And Results: A mutant was obtained from an industrial S. cerevisiae strain following random UV mutagenesis and selection on maltose/5-thioglucose medium.

[Chemical composition and efficacy of the multimixture as a dietary supplement: a literature review].

The aim of this work was to identify all papers already published on the nutritional supplement known as multimixture (MM) in journals with high level of scientific rigor and to evaluate the effectiveness of this product as a food supplement. The methodology was based on searching at Medline and Scielo databases, without limit of date, using the keyword multimixture. Thirty one articles were analyzed.

Randomized, controlled trial promotes physical activity and reduces consumption of sweets and sodium among overweight and obese adults.

The present study sought to assess the impact of an intervention to reduce weight and control risk factors of noncommunicable chronic diseases in overweight or obese adults who are users of primary and secondary healthcare units of the public health system of Pelotas, Brazil. We hypothesized that individuals who received an educational intervention regarding how to lose weight and prevent other noncommunicable chronic disease risk factors through nutrition would lose weight and acquire active habits during leisure time more frequently than individuals under regular care. Two hundred forty-one participants from the Nutrition Outpatient Clinic of the Medical Teaching Hospital of the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, aged 20 years or older and classified as overweight or obese were randomly allocated to either the intervention group (IG; n = 120) or control group (CG; n = 121).

Expandable gastric port for natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery.

Background: The risk of intraabdominal contamination is a critical consideration during most natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) procedures.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine a safe and efficient pathway for the endoscope in a transgastric NOTES procedure.

Design And Settings: A pilot experimental study in live pigs was performed.

Survey on physicians' knowledge of sepsis: do they recognize it promptly?

Purpose: In Brazil, sepsis has a high mortality; and early recognition is essential in outcome. The aim of the study was to evaluate physicians' knowledge about systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock concepts.

Methods: This was a prospective, observational study performed in 21 hospitals in Brazil, which enrolled physicians working in the participant institutions.

Early determinants of death due to multiple organ failure after noncardiac surgery in high-risk patients.

Background: Prediction of perioperative cardiac complications is important in the medical management of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. However, these patients frequently die as a consequence of primary or secondary multiple organ failure (MOF), often as a result of sepsis. We investigated the early perioperative risk factors for in-hospital death due to MOF in surgical patients.

Orotracheal intubation: physicians knowledge assessment and clinical practices in intensive care units.

Objectives: To assess the physician’s knowledge on intubation techniques and to identify the common practices.

Methods: This was a prospective study, involving three different intensive care units within a University hospital: Anesthesiology (ANEST), Pulmonology (PULMO) and Emergency Department (ED). All physicians working in these units and consenting to participate in the study completed a questionnaire with their demographic data and questions on orotracheal intubation.

Accuracy of different methods for blood glucose measurement in critically ill patients.

Context And Objective: Although glucometers have not been validated for intensive care units, they are regularly used. The aim of this study was to compare and assess the accuracy and clinical agreement of arterial glucose concentration obtained using colorimetry (Agluc-lab), capillary (Cgluc-strip) and arterial (Agluc-strip) glucose concentration obtained using glucometry and central venous glucose concentration obtained using colorimetry (Vgluc-lab).

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study in a university hospital.

Traumatic dental injuries in primary dentition: epidemiological study among preschool children in South Brazil.

Aim: To estimate the prevalence of traumatic injury in primary dentition among children aged 12-71 months old, as well as to evaluate the distribution of traumatic injuries, type of trauma and associated factors.

Material And Methods: After the research project approval by the Ethics Research Committee, a cross-sectional study was carried out including 571 preschool children--both from public and private schools--in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Data were collected by means of anterior teeth examination, and by the administration of a structured questionnaire to parents.

Green tea averts age-dependent decline of hippocampal signaling systems related to antioxidant defenses and survival.

We previously found that prolonged consumption of green tea (GT), a rich source of antioxidant polyphenols, protected proteins and lipids against oxidation and reduced lipofuscin deposition in the rat hippocampal formation as well as improving spatial memory during aging. In this work, we sought to investigate whether GT treatment could interfere with age-related changes in redox status and cellular signaling systems related to oxidative stress and survival in the same brain region. To address this issue, five male Wistar rats were fed with GT from 12 to 19 months of age and results were compared to those obtained from controls age 19 months (C-19 M).

Standardized phase angle from bioelectrical impedance analysis as prognostic factor for survival in patients with cancer.

Purpose: Phase angle (PA), determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), has been considered as a prognostic factor in several clinical conditions. The purpose of this study is to investigate PA, after adjusting for sex and age (standardized phase angle; SPA) as a prognostic factor for survival in cancer patients.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted in 195 patients before the first chemotherapy course.

Body weight and fat-free mass changes in a cohort of patients receiving chemotherapy.

Purpose: Malnutrition is prevalent in cancer patients and it can become even greater during its treatment. The purpose of the present study is to verify changes in the fat-free mass (FFM) and body weight (BW) in cancer patients during chemotherapy treatment and to identify their significant determinants.

Methods: In a longitudinal study of 174 patients starting a chemotherapy protocol, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) was used to estimate FFM and the nutritional assessment by patient-generated subjective global assessment.

Red wine protects against ethanol-induced oxidative stress in rat liver.

Ethanol consumption may be deleterious to the liver. However, alcoholic beverages contain, besides ethanol (EtOH), complex chemical mixtures that can modify EtOH's adverse effects. Red wine (RW) is rich in polyphenolic antioxidants, often reported as hepatoprotective agents.

Effects of dietary coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting abdominal obesity.

The effects of dietary supplementation with coconut oil on the biochemical and anthropometric profiles of women presenting waist circumferences (WC) >88 cm (abdominal obesity) were investigated. The randomised, double-blind, clinical trial involved 40 women aged 20-40 years. Groups received daily dietary supplements comprising 30 mL of either soy bean oil (group S; n = 20) or coconut oil (group C; n = 20) over a 12-week period, during which all subjects were instructed to follow a balanced hypocaloric diet and to walk for 50 min per day.

Does regular consumption of green tea influence expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor in aged rat erectile tissue? Possible implications for vasculogenic erectile dysfunction progression.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a highly prevalent disease affecting millions of men worldwide with a tendency for widespread increase. ED is now considered an early manifestation of atherosclerosis and, consequently, a precursor of systemic vascular disease. Atherosclerosis and ED share potentially modifiable risk factors, as smoking or high-fat food intake, but it is unclear how regular consumption of anti-oxidant rich drinks, which exhibit recognised anti-atherosclerotic features, affects ED progression.

Chronic green tea consumption prevents age-related changes in rat hippocampal formation.

The hippocampal formation undergoes considerable structural and functional modifications during aging and oxidative stress emerges as a key player in the process. In the present study, we investigated whether prolonged consumption of green tea (GT), which contains large amounts of polyphenols, could interfere with age-related changes in this brain region using biochemical, morphological and behavioral approaches. Ten male Wistar rats aged 19 months were fed with GT since 12 months of age and results compared to those obtained from controls aged 19 months (C-19M).

[Frequency of healthy eating habits measured by the 10 Steps to Healthy Eating score proposed by the Ministry of Health: Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil].

This study aimed to measure frequency of healthy eating habits and associated factors using the 10 Steps to Healthy Eating score proposed by the Ministry of Health in the adult population in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted on a cluster sample of 3,136 adult residents in Pelotas. The frequency of each step to healthy eating was collected with a pre-coded questionnaire.