A Phase II trial of split, low-dose docetaxel and low-dose capecitabine: a tolerable and efficacious regimen in the first-line treatment of patients with HER2/neu-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Background: Successful therapeutic regimens in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) must balance efficacy and tolerability. Docetaxel/capecitabine is an active and commonly used doublet in this setting. Docetaxel upregulates thymidine phosphorylase and thus potentiates the antitumor effects of capecitabine.

Bcl-x(L) inhibits Bax-induced alterations in mitochondrial respiration and calcium release.

Apoptosis is a natural cell elimination process involved in a number of physiological and pathological events. This process can be regulated by members of the Bcl-2 family. Bax, a pro-apoptotic member of this family, accelerates cell death, while the pro-survival member, Bcl-x(L), can antagonize the pro-apoptotic function of Bax to promote cell survival.

Mitochondrial haplogroup H1 is protective for ischemic stroke in Portuguese patients.

Background: The genetic contribution to stroke is well established but it has proven difficult to identify the genes and the disease-associated alleles mediating this effect, possibly because only nuclear genes have been intensely investigated so far. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been implicated in several disorders having stroke as one of its clinical manifestations. The aim of this case-control study was to assess the contribution of mtDNA polymorphisms and haplogroups to ischemic stroke risk.

Adhesive procedures in daily practice: essential aspects.

Adhesive procedures are essential to most restorative protocols used in modern dentistry. Increasing demand and constant interest in new products have stimulated dental manufacturers to produce new adhesive systems and marketing campaigns that announce fast and easy bonding. However, laboratorial and clinical studies show that, usually, ease of application of an adhesive system does not relate to its competence in creating a quality, long-term adhesive interface.

Differences in preservation of canine chilled semen using different transport containers.

In the present study, the effect of three different containers in the preservation of dog chilled semen, during 24, 48 and 72h was evaluated. Weekly sperm pools of different dogs were obtained, during 10 consecutive weeks. Semen samples were diluted in egg-yolk-Tris-fructose extender and stored in a Styrofoam box, a common Thermos flask and an Equitainer.

Increase in bax expression and apoptosis are associated in Huntington's disease progression.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary dominant neurodegenerative disorder and the progression of the disease may be associated with apoptosis and altered expression of apoptotic proteins. The aim of this study was to investigate gene expression of bax and bcl-2 in tissues from R6/1 transgenic (TGN) mice of different ages (3, 6 and 9 months). The mRNA expression was investigated and related to apoptotic cells measured by TUNEL.

Tomato oleoresin inhibits DNA damage but not diethylnitrosamine-induced rat hepatocarcinogenesis.

Various studies have shown that lycopene, a non-provitamin A carotenoid, exerts antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activities in different in vitro and in vivo systems. However, the results concerning its chemopreventive potential on rat hepatocarcinogenesis are ambiguous. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antigenotoxic and anticarcinogenic effects of dietary tomato oleoresin adjusted to lycopene concentration at 30, 100 or 300 ppm (administered 2 weeks before and during or 8 weeks after carcinogen exposure) on liver of male Wistar rats treated with a single intraperitoneal dose of 20 or 100mg/kg of diethylnitrosamine (DEN), respectively.

Opposition to the American leadership by Brazilian nurses (1934-1938).

Unlabelled: A historical social descriptive study whose objective is to describe the circumstances where Bertha Pullen assumes as the dean of Anna Nery Nursing School, to assess the strategies undertaken by Pullen to assure her position of power and prestige in the space of the school and Brazilian nursing; and to discuss about the resistance to the presence and authority of the American dean for the nurses and students, in the struggle for a national identity. Corpus analysis was made by putting photographs into context based on written documents and secondary sources.

Results: The second management of Pullen was the reiteration of the American presence in the leadership of the School, despite the resistance of the nurses and students.

C-H bond dissociation enthalpies in norbornane. An experimental and computational study.

Gas-phase C-H bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) in norbornane were determined by quantum chemistry calculations and the C2-H BDE was experimentally obtained for the first time by time-resolved photoacoustic calorimetry. CBS-Q and CBS-QB3 methods were used to derive the values DH degrees (C1-H) = 449 kJ mol-1, DH degrees (C7-H) = 439 kJ mol-1, and DH degrees (C2-H) = 413 kJ mol-1. The experimental result DH degrees (C2-H) = 414.

Multivariate analysis of tronchuda cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC) phenolics: influence of fertilizers.

A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of fertilization level on the phenolic composition of tronchuda cabbage ( Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC) external and internal leaves.

[Comparisons of quality of life measures between women and men on hemodialysis].

Objective: To compare men and women on chronic hemodialysis in relation to their scores in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and evaluate the potential influence of age and comorbidities on the comparison.

Methods: Cross-section of the baseline data of 254 women and 349 men, participants of the PROHEMO Study that has been developed in dialysis units of Salvador. By using the version of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form KDQOL-SF, validated for the Brazilian population, the following scores were determined: physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary [MCS] and the scale for symptoms/problems related to renal disease.

[Occurrence of Ceratitis capitata Wied. (Diptera: Tephritidae) on papaya fruits in Minas Gerais State, Brazil].

The objective of this work was to register the infestation of C. capitata on papaya fruits in Minas Gerais State. Papaya fruits were collected, in a commercial orchard, in Jaíba, north of the State of Minas Gerais.

[The Brazilian expeditionary force's nurses in the Italian front].

Unlabelled: This social-historical study analyzes the proximity between the nurses at the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB, in the Portuguese-language acronym) and the authorities in charge of the U.S. the Brazilian Armies in World War II.

Phase II trial of 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin/gemcitabine/cisplatin as second-line treatment in patients with metastatic or recurrent colorectal carcinoma: a cancer therapeutics research group study.

Background: Second-line treatment of relapsed or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) after failure of treatment with a fluoropyrimidine is composed of oxaliplatin in combination with a fluoropyrimidine or an irinotecan-containing regimen. Cisplatin and gemcitabine are synergistic in preclinical studies, as is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) combined with either agent. Fixed-rate infusional gemcitabine is more effective than bolus administration in animal models.

Oxaliplatin and fixed-rate infusional gemcitabine in the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic colon cancer: final results of a Phase II trial prematurely closed as a result of poor accrual.

Background: Second-line therapy of advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) after failure of a combination of irinotecan, a fluoropyrimidine, and bevacizumab includes the use of oxaliplatin and a fluoropyrimidine. In animal models, synergistic effects of gemcitabine and platinum agents have been established. Additionally, superior antitumor activity of prolonged administration of gemcitabine compared with bolus administration has been demonstrated in vivo against murine colon tumors.

Paclitaxel albumin-bound particles (abraxane) in combination with bevacizumab with or without gemcitabine: early experience at the University of Miami/Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute.

Background: Paclitaxel albumin-bound particles (nab-paclitaxel, ABRAXANE) (nab-P) improve outcomes when compared against single agent cremophor-based paclitaxel, as do the addition of bevacizumab (B) or gemcitabine (G) to the same agent. There are no available data regarding combinations of nab-P with B and/or G. Ongoing investigational efforts are evaluating various doublets with these agents, but, to the best of our knowledge, not all 3 of them in the same regimen.

Screening of antioxidant compounds during sprouting of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC.

The changes in antioxidant compounds of Brassica oleracea L. var. costata DC seeds were monitored during the first twelve days of seedling development.

Recovery rate, morphological quality and nuclear maturity of canine cumulus-oocyte complexes collected from anestrous or diestrous bitches of different ages.

Canine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC) were recovered from ovaries of post-pubertal animals (1-3, 4-6 and 7-10 years old) at different ovarian estrous phases (anestrus and diestrus). The number of COCs, and the number and nuclear maturity of high-quality (grade-1) oocytes were assessed. For all animals, no significant differences were found between the two reproductive phases relatively to the total number of COCs and grade-1 oocytes recovered.

Microtensile bond strength of a nanofilled composite resin to human dentin after nonvital tooth bleaching.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the microtensile bond strength of a nanofilled composite resin to human dentin after nonvital bleaching at different post-bleaching time intervals, and to analyze the fracture mode under SEM.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six sound human maxillary premolars extracted for orthodontic reasons were prepared in a standardized manner, and randomly assigned to four groups (n = 9): non bleached (control) (NB); bleached with sodium perborate and 35% hydrogen peroxide (SP-HP); bleached with 35% hydrogen peroxide (HP); and bleached with 37% carbamide peroxide (CP). Each group was subdivided into 3 subgroups (n = 3): restored immediately (RO); restored after 7 days (R7); and restored after 14 days (R14).

[Multiple paraneoplastic syndromes occurring in the same patient: clinical, imaging and neuro-pathological documentation].

Paraneoplastic neurological syndromes (PNS) are remote effects of cancer, which are not caused by invasion of the tumour or its metastasis, but presumably immunologic mediated. They developed in less than 1% of patients with systemic cancers, most Limbic encephalitis (LE) is the most common clinical paraneoplastic syndrome attainting the CNS (Central Nervous System), and it is characterized by involvement of hippocampus and amygdala; LE is also the only one with clearly defined imaging features. We report a 64 year old man, former smoker, which presented multiple paraneoplastic syndromes, namely LE, opsoclonus-myoclonus, subacute cerebellar degeneration, brainstem encephalitis, sensory-motor neuropathy and inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion syndrome (SIADH); these syndromes were identifiable in the clinical and imaging examination, confirmed by the neuro-pathological study.

[Brazilian Army nurses and transportation of the wounded: a challenge faced during World War II].

This historic-sociologic study aims to analyse the challenges faced by the Brazilian Expeditionary Force's Air Transportation Nurses of the Army with the Theatre of Operations on the course of World War II. The primary source was comprised of a photograph from this time period and oral testimonies of those who participated in the conflict. Ideas by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu support the discussion.

Plasma zinc, copper, leptin, and body composition are associated in elite female judo athletes.

This study evaluated levels of plasma zinc, copper, and leptin, body composition, and their relationship in nine elite female judo athletes under two different training conditions. Body composition and biochemical measurements (hematological indexes, plasma zinc, plasma copper, and plasma leptin) were analyzed 24 h after intense training and following a 5-d period without training (no-training). Plasma leptin and plasma zinc increased with no-training.

Aging-induced decrease of cholinergic response and calcium sensitivity on rat jejunum contractions.

The role of aging on contraction or relaxation through muscarinic or alpha-adrenergic receptors, respectively, was studied in isolated rat jejunum. Furthermore, the influence of extracellular calcium was analyzed, through functional and radioligand binding assays. The rank order of potency for selective muscarinic antagonists for M(1), M(2), and M(3) receptor subtypes, measured from affinity (pA(2)) values, was p-fluorohexahydrosiladifenidol (pFHHSiD) (M(3)) > pirenzepine (M(1)) > methoctramine (M(2)), indicating a predominance of M(3) subtype.

Cytogenetic analysis in lymphocytes from workers occupationally exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation.

The aim of the present study was to perform a cytogenetic analysis in peripheral lymphocytes of 36 individuals occupationally exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation, and compare the results with 36 controls, using the chromosomal aberrations test (CA), sensitivity to bleomycin and cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay (MN). The frequencies of CA/100 cells observed for the exposed workers were not significantly higher than in controls (P>0.05).

[Biological and molecular characteristics of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains isolated in the city of Rio de Janeiro].

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains isolated from individuals living in different areas of the city of Rio de Janeiro were characterized according to serotype, hemolytic properties, hemagglutination properties, antimicrobial susceptibility and isoenzymatic profile. The molecular approach used, together with investigation of urovirulence markers, enabled detection of great diversity among the isolates. However, closer relationships were observed between epidemiologically related Escherichia coli samples.