Treatment of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate in a horizontal anaerobic immobilized biomass reactor.

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) is an anionic surfactant widely used to manufacture detergents and found in domestic and industrial wastewater. LAS removal was evaluated in a horizontal anaerobic immobilized biomass reactor. The system was filled with polyurethane foam and inoculated with sludge that was withdrawn from an up flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor that is used to treat swine wastewater.

What is the most common phototherapy prescription for psoriasis: NB-UVB or PUVA? Prescription behavior.

Background: Moderate and severe forms of psoriasis require phototherapy and / or systemic medications. Both UVA and UVB can be used to treat cases of moderate and severe psoriasis, and the effectiveness of both has been proven.

Objective: to access the prescription behavior relating to two types of phototherapy for treating psoriasis refractory to topical treatment: narrowband UVB (NB-UVB) or psoralen plus UVA phototherapy (PUVA).

Performance and molecular evaluation of an anaerobic system with suspended biomass for treating wastewater with high fat content after enzymatic hydrolysis.

The effect of a lipase-rich fungal enzymatic preparation, produced by a Penicillium sp. during solid-state fermentation, was evaluated in an anaerobic digester treating dairy wastewater with 1200 mg of oil and grease/L. The oil and grease hydrolysis step was carried out with 0.

[Outcome of surgical treatment of liver metastasis from colorectal cancer].

Background: Surgical resection is the only treatment associated with long-term cure in patients with liver metastasis from colorectal cancer, achieving a 30% to 40% five years survival.

Aim: To evaluate the results of liver resection for metastatic colorectal cancer in our centre.

Patients And Methods: Retrospective study.

[Long-term survival in carcinoid tumour of the appendix. An analysis of 8903 appendectomies].

Introduction: Appendiceal carcinoids are the most frequent tumors of the appendix and are usually detected as an incidental finding in the final pathology report. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and pathological characteristics, surgical treatment and long-term survival in patients with an appendiceal carcinoid tumor.

Material And Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients treated from 1980 to 2007 with a pathological diagnosis of appendiceal carcinoid tumor.

The role of glass as a barrier against the transmission of ultraviolet radiation: an experimental study.

Background/purpose: Excessive exposure of the skin to sunlight may cause many symptoms and skin cancer. The aim was to measure the transmission of ultraviolet (UV) A and UVB radiation through glasses of different types, according to the distance from the light source.

Methods: The baseline radiation from UVA and UVB sources was measured at different distances from the photometers.

Central antinociception induced by mu-opioid receptor agonist morphine, but not delta- or kappa-, is mediated by cannabinoid CB1 receptor.

Background And Purpose: It has been demonstrated that cannabinoids evoke the release of endogenous opioids to produce antinociception; however, no information exists regarding the participation of cannabinoids in the antinociceptive mechanisms of opioids. The aim of the present study was to determine whether endocannabinoids are involved in central antinociception induced by activation of mu-, delta- and kappa-opioid receptors.

Experimental Approach: Nociceptive threshold to thermal stimulation was measured according to the tail-flick test in Swiss mice.

Opioid receptor and NO/cGMP pathway as a mechanism of peripheral antinociceptive action of the cannabinoid receptor agonist anandamide.

Aims: In this study, we investigated whether the opioid system and the nitric oxide pathway were involved in the peripheral antinociception induced by a cannabinoid receptor agonist anandamide.

Main Methods: Hyperalgesia was induced by a subcutaneous injection of carrageenan (250 microg) into the plantar surface of the rat's hindpaw and measured by the paw pressure test 3h after injection. The weight in grams (g) required to elicit a nociceptive response, paw flexion, was determined as the nociceptive threshold.

Association of contact urticaria and allergic contact dermatitis to rubber.

We present a case of a healthcare professional that developed type I and IV hypersensitivity reactions to rubber. During the clinical examination the patient showed eczematous dermatitis of the hands. The patch test was positive for thiuram group and an open test with a piece of glove was positive after 20 minutes of exposure.

Analytical approaches toward successful human cell metabolome studies by NMR spectroscopy.

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of cell handling and storage on cell integrity and (1)H high resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) NMR spectra. Three different cell types have been considered (lung tumoral, amniocytes, and MG-63 osteosarcoma cells) in order for sample-dependent effects to be identified. Cell integrity of fresh cells and cells frozen in cryopreservative solution was approximately 70-80%, with the former showing higher membrane degradation, probably enzymatic, as indicated by increased phosphocholine (PC) and/or glycerophosphocholine (GPC).

(1)H NMR based metabonomics of human amniotic fluid for the metabolic characterization of fetus malformations.

An NMR-metabonomic study of malformed fetuses was carried out through human amniotic fluid (HAF) analysis. Over 70 compounds were detected in control HAF by NMR. Possible confounding variables (fetus gender and gestational and maternal ages) were shown not to induce detectable compositional trends in the control group considered.

Discovery of novel plant peptides as strong inhibitors of metalloproteinases.

Five novel metalloproteinase protein inhibitors (MPIs) with molecular mass between 5.6 and 8.9 kDa and acid/neutral pI were detected in lupin seeds and exhibited strong inhibitory activities against thermolysin and/or gelatinase B.

alpha(2)-Adrenoceptor agonist xylazine induces peripheral antinociceptive effect by activation of the L-arginine/nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway in rat.

The L-arginine/nitric oxide/cyclic GMP pathway has been proposed as the mechanism of action for peripheral antinociception concerning several groups of drugs, including opioids and nonsteroidal analgesics. The aim of the present study was to investigate the involvement of the L-arginine/NO/cGMP pathway on antinociception induced by xylazine, an alpha(2)-adrenoceptor agonist extensively used in veterinary medicine and animal experimentation. The rat paw pressure test was used by inducing hyperalgesia via intraplantar injection of prostaglandin E(2) (2 microg).

The yeast PNC1 longevity gene is up-regulated by mRNA mistranslation.

Translation fidelity is critical for protein synthesis and to ensure correct cell functioning. Mutations in the protein synthesis machinery or environmental factors that increase synthesis of mistranslated proteins result in cell death and degeneration and are associated with neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and with an increasing number of mitochondrial disorders. Remarkably, mRNA mistranslation plays critical roles in the evolution of the genetic code, can be beneficial under stress conditions in yeast and in Escherichia coli and is an important source of peptides for MHC class I complex in dendritic cells.

[Allergic contact dermatitis to topical drugs: a descriptive analysis].

Background: Allergic Contact Dermatitis is a common type of dermatitis, but its multiple etiologies hinder its management.

Objective: the objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of sensitization to topical drugs in a university center, to study the main characteristics of the affected population, and to identify the allergens related with the dermatitis.

Methods: a retrospective and descriptive study with patients submitted to patch tests.

[Long term survival of patients operated for early gastric cancer].

Background: Early gastric cancer involves mucosa and submucosa, independent of lymph node involvement. Radical gastrectomy is the standard treatment.

Aim: To assess long term survival of patients operated for an early gastric cancer.

Role of systemic and local administration of selective inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase 1 and 2 in an experimental model of periodontal disease in rats.

Background And Objective: Periodontal disease is an inflammatory condition of tooth-supporting tissues. Arachidonic acid metabolites have been implicated in development of periodontal disease, especially those derived from the cyclo-oxygenase (COX) pathway. This study investigated the role of inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) in a model of periodontal disease in rats.

[Gastric adenocarcinoma appearing 32 years after the resection of a gastric lymphoma. Report of one case].

The association of gastric lymphoma and gastric adenocarcinoma in the same patient is uncommon. We report a 76 year-old male with a previous history of massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding who required a subtotal gastrectomy with Billroth II reconstruction in 1974. Pathology demonstrated a gastric lympho-histiocytic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The analgesic actions of centrally administered celecoxib are mediated by endogenous opioids.

Celecoxib is a selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and blocks prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis associated with inflammatory conditions. In a model of peripherally induced inflammatory pain in rats, celecoxib, given systemically, induced a state of hypoalgesia where the nociceptive threshold was raised above basal values, an effect not observed after treatment with non-selective inhibitors of COX (indomethacin, piroxicam). Here, we have assessed the possibility that these atypical effects of celecoxib could be mediated by action at a site in the CNS.

Identification of metabolites in human hepatic bile using 800 MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy, HPLC-NMR/MS and UPLC-MS.

The first application of high field NMR spectroscopy (800 MHz for (1)H observation) to human hepatic bile (as opposed to gall bladder bile) is reported. The bile sample used for detailed investigation was from a donor liver with mild fat infiltration, collected during organ retrieval prior to transplantation. In addition, to focus on the detection of bile acids in particular, a bile extract was analysed by 800 MHz (1)H NMR spectroscopy, HPLC-NMR/MS and UPLC-MS.

Frequency and main sites of allergic contact dermatitis caused by nail varnish.

Background: Liquid nail varnish has been used since 1919, and allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) has been recognized for at least 80 years, but it is difficult for nonspecialists to identify this condition.

Objectives: (1) To verify the frequency of ACD from nail varnish in patients with a presumptive diagnosis of contact dermatitis seen at an outpatient clinic, (2) to characterize the groups studied according to site of skin disorder, and (3) to determine the main sensitizer related to varnish.

Methods: Patients with a final diagnosis of ACD caused by nail varnish were assessed by means of retrospective analysis of medical charts and protocols used in the clinic from January 1996 to December 2006.

Macronuclear genome structure of the ciliate Nyctotherus ovalis: single-gene chromosomes and tiny introns.

Background: Nyctotherus ovalis is a single-celled eukaryote that has hydrogen-producing mitochondria and lives in the hindgut of cockroaches. Like all members of the ciliate taxon, it has two types of nuclei, a micronucleus and a macronucleus. N.

Lack of diagnostic utility of specific immunoglobulin M in Helicobacter pylori infection in children.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection results in a systemic immune response characterized by the initial rise of immunoglobulin (Ig) M followed by the elevation of IgG- and IgA-specific antibody levels in serum. Age and regional considerations may modify the accuracy of serological tests.

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of specific IgG, IgA, and IgM in H pylori infection determination in different age groups.