Vascular endothelial growth factor plasma levels before and after treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration with bevacizumab or ranibizumab.

Purpose: To evaluate the changes of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plasma levels after intravitreal injections of ranibizumab or bevacizumab in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: Forty-three patients with exudative AMD and 19 age- and sex-matched control patients without chorioretinal diseases were studied. Nineteen patients were treated with intravitreal ranibizumab 0.

ELSa interventional Portuguese health program to promote physical activity.

The aim of the communication was to present the baseline data from incidence of obesity, eating habits, physical activity and sedentary behaviour, before ELSa, interventional Portuguese health program. The sample was composed of 496 children (238 girls and 258 boys) with an average 7.7 (± 2.

Analysis of the profile, areas of action and abilities of Brazilian sports physical therapists working with soccer and volleyball.

Objective: To analyze the profile of Brazilian physical therapists working with soccer and volleyball professional teams, by verifying their level of education (graduate or undergraduate), as well as their role and insertion within the interdisciplinary team.

Methods: Structured questionnaires were administered to forty-nine physical therapists working at soccer, volleyball clubs and Brazilian national teams. These questionnaires provided data on social demographic, characteristics of the work environment and organization of clinical practice and its domains.

Validity and reliability of clinical tests for assessing passive ankle stiffness.

Background: The presence of inadequate levels of passive ankle stiffness have been associated with the occurrence of movement disorders, the development of pathological conditions and the reduction in the performance of functional activities such as walking, running and jumping. Therefore, clinical tests to evaluate ankle stiffness may be useful for the physical therapy assessment.

Objectives: To investigate the concurrent validity and the intra- and inter-examiner reliability of clinical measures developed to assess passive stiffness of the ankle joint during dorsiflexion movement.

Relationship between ultra-processed foods and metabolic syndrome in adolescents from a Brazilian Family Doctor Program.

Objective: To estimate the association between food intake and metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Design: Cross-sectional design conducted from July 2006 to December 2007.

Setting: Adolescents assisted by the Family Doctor Program (FDP) in Niterói, a metropolitan area in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.

Relationships between measures of muscular performance, proprioceptive acuity, and aging in elderly women with knee osteoarthritis.

Introduction: OA is a multifactorial condition, which predisposes elderly individuals to disabilities. Therefore, aging, especially in women, is considered to be a risk factor for the development and progression of this disease. The aging process and the presence of degenerative diseases lead to losses of strength and proprioceptive acuity.

Severe maternal morbidity and near misses in a regional reference hospital.

Objective: To investigate severe maternal morbidity/near misses in a tertiary public maternity in the state of Rio de Janeiro, using different identification criteria.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, performed in a regional reference hospital between June and October 2009, on severe maternal morbidity/near miss cases identified from the log books of the maternity hospital and review of medical records. This study focused on women who, during pregnancy, delivery, or the postpartum period, showed no clinical symptoms compatible with the defining criteria for severe maternal morbidity/near miss of Waterstone et al, Mantel et al.

Peptide-chlorambucil conjugates combat pgp-dependent drug efflux.

Cancer drugs, such as the ovarian cancer drug adriamycin, are effective at slowing disease progression and improving remission rates in patients. However, drug resistance often arises, limiting the activity of these agents in some patients. In particular, efflux pumps, which export drugs out of cells, limit the efficacy of a variety of anticancer agents.

[Maternal mortality in Brazil: what has the scientific literature shown in the last 30 years?].

The aim of this study was to analyze maternal mortality in Brazil in the last 30 years, by means of a literature review. The authors performed an electronic search of scientific articles from 1980 to 2010 in LILACS and MEDLINE and found 486 abstracts, of which 50 articles were selected. Studies showed a decrease in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR), although varying across regions of the country.

Rerouting chlorambucil to mitochondria combats drug deactivation and resistance in cancer cells.

The difficulty of accessing the mitochondrial matrix has limited the targeting of therapeutics to this organelle. Here, we report, to our knowledge, the first successful delivery of an active DNA alkylating agent--chlorambucil--to mitochondria, and describe unexpected features that result from rerouting this drug within the cell. Mitochondrial targeting of this agent dramatically potentiates its activity, and promotes apoptotic cell death in a variety of cancer cell lines and patient samples.

Inflammatory and Immunological parameters in adults with Down syndrome.

Background: The increase in life expectancy within the general population has resulted in an increasing number of elderly adults, including patients with Down syndrome (DS), with a current life expectancy of about 50 years. We evaluate the parameters of humoral and cellular immune response, the quantitative expression of the regulator of calcineurin1 gene (RCAN1) and the production of cytokines. The study group consisted of adults DS (n = 24) and a control group with intellectual disability without Down syndrome (ID) (n = 21) and living in a similar environmental background.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and pancreatic β-cell death.

In pancreatic β-cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an important cellular compartment for insulin biosynthesis, which accounts for half of the total protein production in these cells. Protein flux through the ER must be carefully monitored to prevent dysregulation of ER homeostasis and stress. ER stress elicits a signaling cascade known as the unfolded protein response (UPR), which influences both life and death decisions in cells.

Unique features of memory T cells in HIV elite controllers: a systems biology perspective.

Purpose Of Review: Elite controllers constitute a rare group of HIV-infected individuals who control HIV replication and maintain normal CD4 cell counts without antiretroviral therapy (ART). The mechanisms involved in the control of infection are poorly understood. This review will focus on the identification of signaling pathways upregulated or downregulated in different memory T-cell subsets in elite controllers by using systems biology approaches.

Interpersonal distance regulates functional grouping tendencies of agents in team sports.

The authors examined whether, similar to collective agent behaviors in complex, biological systems (e.g., schools of fish and colonies of ants), performers in team sports displayed functional coordination tendencies, based on local interaction rules during performance.

Arterial thromboembolic events in patients with exudative age-related macular degeneration treated with intravitreal bevacizumab or ranibizumab.

Background/aims: To compare retrospectively the incidence of arterial thromboembolic events (ATEs) in patients treated with bevacizumab or ranibizumab for exudative age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Charts of 378 patients treated with at least 1 intravitreal injection of ranibizumab or bevacizumab were reviewed to calculate the incidence of ATEs. Only patients under monotherapy were analyzed.

Validity and reliability of clinical tests for assessing hip passive stiffness.

Inadequate levels of hip passive joint stiffness have been associated with the occurrence of movement dysfunction, development of pathologies and reduction in performance. Clinical tests, designed to evaluate hip joint stiffness, may allow the identification of improper stiffness levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the concurrent validity as well as the intra- and inter-examiners reliabilities of clinical measures used to assess hip passive stiffness during internal rotation.

An 18-month open-label trial of teriparatide in patients with previous parathyroidectomy at continued risk for osteoporotic fractures: an exploratory study.

Objective: To determine whether teriparatide increases lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) in patients who have undergone parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and are at continued risk for fracture.

Methods: This open-label, nonrandomized, uncontrolled exploratory design study included patients who had undergone parathyroidectomy for PHPT and were judged to be at continued risk for fracture according to National Osteoporosis Foundation criteria. Patients were administered teriparatide subcutaneously, 20 mcg daily, for 18 months after they satisfactorily completed the screening period to ensure their eligibility for study participation.

Stress hypERactivation in the β-cell.

In pancreatic β-cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the crucial site for insulin biosynthesis, as this is where the protein-folding machinery for secretory proteins is localized. Perturbations to ER function of the β-cell, such as a high demand for insulin secretion, can lead to an imbalance in protein homeostasis and lead to ER stress. This stress can be mitigated by an adaptive, cellular response, the unfolded protein response (UPR).

A study protocol to evaluate the relationship between outdoor air pollution and pregnancy outcomes.

Background: The present study protocol is designed to assess the relationship between outdoor air pollution and low birth weight and preterm births outcomes performing a semi-ecological analysis. Semi-ecological design studies are widely used to assess effects of air pollution in humans. In this type of analysis, health outcomes and covariates are measured in individuals and exposure assignments are usually based on air quality monitor stations.

Determination of eight selected organophosphorus insecticides in postmortem blood samples using solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

A simple, rapid and sensitive method is described for the determination of omethoate, dimethoate, diazinon, chlorpyrifos, parathion-ethyl, chlorfenvinphos, quinalphos and azinphos-ethyl in postmortem whole blood samples. The analytes and internal standard (ethion) were isolated from the matrix by solid-phase extraction, and were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode. The method has shown to be selective after analysis of postmortem samples of 40 different origins.

Myocardial gene and protein expression profiles after autoimmune injury in Chagas' disease cardiomyopathy.

One third of the 16 million of individuals infected by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi in Latin America eventually develop chronic Chagas' disease cardiomyopathy (CCC), an inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy with shorter survival than non-inflammatory cardiomyopathies. The presence of a T cell-rich mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate and the relative scarcity of parasites in the heart suggested that chronic inflammation secondary to the autoimmune recognition of cardiac proteins could be a major pathogenetic mechanism. Sera from CCC patients crossreactively recognize cardiac myosin and T.

Disability associated with pain--a clinical approximation of the mediating effect of belief and attitudes.

Our objective was to test the hypothesis that pain beliefs are mediators of disability in a population of workers with chronic pain. A cross-sectional study composed of 115 workers with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) whose symptoms appeared 6 months before the beginning of the study was conducted. Outcome measures included questionnaires on pain, pain beliefs, physical disability, and depression.

Production of biogenic amines "in vitro" in relation to the growth phase by Enterobacteriaceae species isolated from traditional sausages.

Histidine, lysine, ornithine and tyrosine decarboxylase activities were tested in 79 strains of Enterobacteriaceae (41 of Hafnia alvei, 17 of Serratia liquefaciens, 5 of Enterobacter cloacae, 4 of Citrobacter braakii, 2 of Proteus vulgaris, 2 of Proteus mirabilis, 2 of Providencia stuartii, 2 of Klebsiella terrigena, 1 of Rahnella aquatilis, 1 of Salmonella arizonae, 1 of Citrobacter youngae and 1 of Escherichia coli) isolated from Botillo, a Spanish traditional sausage. In general, the strains were positive for all four activities, with the exception of two strains of H. alvei and the E.