Simultaneous determination of multibenzodiazepines by HPLC/UV: investigation of liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions in human plasma.

A method for simultaneous determination of seven benzodiazepines (BZPs) (flunitrazepam, clonazepam, oxazepam, lorazepam, chlordiazepoxide, nordiazepam and diazepam using N-desalkylflurazepam as internal standard) in human plasma using liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is described. The analytes were separated employing a LC-18 DB column (250 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 microm) at 35 degrees C under isocratic conditions using 5mM KH(2)PO(4) buffer solution pH 6.

The serial use of child neurocognitive tests: development versus practice effects.

When serial neurocognitive assessments are performed, 2 main factors are of importance: test-retest reliability and practice effects. With children, however, there is a third, developmental factor, which occurs as a result of maturation. Child tests recognize this factor through the provision of age-corrected scaled scores.

Dynamic of migration of HSV-1 from a medullary pronociceptive centre: antinociception by overexpression of the preproenkephalin transgene.

Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) vectors are known to inhibit nociceptive transmission at the spinal cord after peripheral applications. Similar approaches may also be useful when applied at the supraspinal pain control system as the system includes pronociceptive (facilitatory) components. We performed a study aimed to analyse the migration of HSV-1 along with the inhibition of pronociception from the medullary dorsal reticular nucleus (DRt), a major facilitatory component of the supraspinal pain control system.

Artificial microRNAs as siRNA shuttles: improved safety as compared to shRNAs in vitro and in vivo.

RNA interference (RNAi) provides a promising therapeutic approach to human diseases. However, data from recent reports demonstrate that short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) may cause cellular toxicity, and this warrants further investigation of the safety of using RNAi vectors. Earlier, in comparing hairpin-based RNAi vectors, we noted that shRNAs are highly expressed and yield an abundance of unprocessed precursors, whereas artificial microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed at lower levels and are processed efficiently.

Cross linguistic aphasia testing: the Portuguese version of the Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT).

We report the adaptation of the Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT) to the Portuguese language (PAAT) and the results of its standardization in 125 persons with aphasia and 153 healthy controls. Patients with aphasia had a previous syndromic diagnosis, obtained through a Portuguese aphasia battery, which served as a reference. The control group was stratified by age and educational level.

[Hypertension in impoverished social segments in the state of São Paulo].

The objective of the current study was investigating the relation between socio-economic, environmental and biological factors and hypertension according to gender, taking into consideration peculiar forms of work, leisure and life-style. The target population consisted of 677 adults of impoverished social segments of two cities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, 274 (39.8%) men and 415 (60.

[Poverty, malnutrition and obesity: interrelationships among the nutritional status of members of the same family].

Chronic malnutrition in infancy and obesity associated with short stature in adulthood may share common biological and socio-environmental determinants. An analysis of intra-family nutrition status distribution patterns may provide elements for understanding the risk factors common to these physiological conditions. The purpose of this study is to ascertain how the intra-family distribution of nutritional conditions in pauperized families occurs, examining related social, environmental and biological factors.

[Sensibility and reproducibility of a sedimental technique (Foreyt, 2005) for Fasciola hepatica diagnosis].

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the sensibility and reproducibility of Foreyt (2005) technique in the diagnosis of Fasciola hepatica. A total of 686 bovines were examined at a slaughtered house and 97 were positive for Fasciola hepatica. Feces samples were collected and 58 were positive for the Foreyt technique.

[Efficacy of eprinomectin in the control of Haematobia irritans in cattle].

To evaluate the efficacy of a formulation with 0,5% of eprinomectin in cattle to control H. irritans, two trials were conducted for the control of H. irritans in the field in the state of Rio de Janeiro, using 0,5% of eprinomectin, at a dose rate of 500 mc g/kg body weight, corresponding to 10 mL/100 kg.

A longitudinal study of neurological soft signs from late childhood into early adulthood.

Neurological examination of children includes the screening for soft neurological signs (NSS). There is little knowledge about their evolution during adolescence, except that their lasting presence has been associated with developmental, psychological, and cognitive disorders. We report the results of a NSS exam (assessing gross and fine motor function and the presence of hyperactivity and motor impersistence) over a 5-year period, among a group of healthy children who were followed annually as part of a dental study.

Systemic lupus erythematosus--a diagnosis in cardiology.

Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organ systems. As such, it can be diagnosed because of multiorgan or constitutional symptoms, but frequently medical treatment is sought only when there is clinical involvement of a particular organ or system, even if established--but undiagnosed--systemic disease is already present. The authors present the case of a patient admitted to a cardiology unit for acute pericarditis, in whom the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus was made, and highlight the need to consider cardiac involvement in systemic diseases.

Post-angiography headaches.

Headache is a common symptom after cerebral angiography, although it has seldom been studied. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of headache at 24 h and 6 months after angiography and to describe its characteristics. We used a cross-sectional survey of consecutive patients submitted to angiography and determined headache presence and its characterization.

A longitudinal factor analytic study of children's neurocognitive abilities.

The neurocognitive abilities of 503 Portuguese children aged 8-11.9 years at onset of the study were assessed annually for 8 years in 3 functional domains: memory, motor and visual motor functions, and attention. A series of exploratory principal axis factor analyses, with varimax rotation, revealed seven factors: Divided Attention, Selective Attention, Verbal Learning and Recall, Visual Learning and Recall, Motor Speed, Visual-Motor Speed, and Working Memory.

Effect of lesion site on serial position during list learning: a study with the CVLT.

Successful learning of supraspan word lists such as the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) relies more on clustering strategies than rote learning, subserved by the frontal and temporal lobes. The authors studied the effect of word sequence in CVLT learning, in 15 patients with frontal (FLL) and 15 temporal (TLL) lesions, and 33 controls. Experimental measures were: number of clusters, number of first (FI), middle (MI) and last items (LI), in learning trials and in total immediate recall.

Validation of a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection for the bioequivalence study of norfloxacin in plasma samples.

A robust method for the determination of norfloxacin in human plasma, using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with fluorescence detection, has been developed. The method involves precipitation of plasma protein with acetonitrile and the use of ciprofloxacin as internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separations were performed on a Synergi MAX-RP 150 x 4.

Internal dynamics control activation and activity of the autoinhibited Vav DH domain.

Protein motions are important to activity, but quantitative relationships between internal dynamics and function are not well understood. The Dbl homology (DH) domain of the proto-oncoprotein and guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav1 is autoinhibited through interactions between its catalytic surface and a helix from an N-terminal acidic region. Phosphorylation of the helix relieves autoinhibition.

Novel phage peptides attenuate beta amyloid-42 catalysed hydrogen peroxide production and associated neurotoxicity.

Amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptides play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. There is accumulating evidence that supports the notion that the toxicity associated with human Abeta (both 40 and 42) is dependent on its superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activity. We developed a novel screening method involving phage display technology to identify novel peptides capable of inhibiting Abeta's neurotoxicity.

Artificial miRNAs mitigate shRNA-mediated toxicity in the brain: implications for the therapeutic development of RNAi.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal, dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine repeat expansion in exon 1 of the HD gene, which encodes the huntingtin protein. We and others have shown that RNAi is a candidate therapy for HD because expression of inhibitory RNAs targeting mutant human HD transgenes improved neuropathology and behavioral deficits in HD mouse models. Here, we developed shRNAs targeting conserved sequences in human HD and mouse HD homolog (HDh) mRNAs to initiate preclinical testing in a knockin mouse model of HD.

[XYY male with right aortic arch and ligamentum arteriosum: a fortuitus association?].

Introduction: The XYY male has characteristicaly tall stature, behavior problems and speech delay. There may may be an association with nephro-urologic malformations but cardiovascular anomalies are usually not present.

Case Report: It is reported a case of a boy with a 47 XYY karyotype with persistent respiratory distress and swallowing difficulties since two months old.

Spatial variation of metal bioaccumulation in the hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus.

The variability of the bioaccumulation of metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) was extensively studied in the mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus from five hydrothermal vent sites inside three main vent fields of increasing depth along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike and Rainbow. Metal bioaccumulation varied greatly between vent fields and even between sites inside a vent field with B. azoricus showing a great capacity to accumulate metals.

Impacts of macroalgal spores on the dynamics of adult macroalgae in a eutrophic estuary: high versus low hydrodynamic seasons and long-term simulations for global warming scenarios.

A model describing macroalgal early life stages and adult dynamics was used to quantify the effects of non-adult forms on the productivity of adult macroalgae in a eutrophic estuary. Predictions indicate that during years with mild winters and low rainfall, spring blooms will occur at the expense of the growth and reproduction of overwintering adults and without the contribution of the spore bank. In these circumstances, there is a positive correlation between the intensity of the blooms and the biomass of overwintering adults until a maximum threshold value.

Neurological outcomes in children with and without amalgam-related mercury exposure: seven years of longitudinal observations in a randomized trial.

Background: Although large-scale, randomized trials involving children have been completed and their results demonstrate an absence of neurobehavioral effects from clinical exposure to mercury amalgam, neurological findings from such studies have not been reported.

Methods: The authors conducted a randomized, prospective trial examining the safety of dental amalgam in which 507 children aged 8 through 12 years were assigned to treatment with either amalgam or resin-based composite. During seven years of follow-up, the authors performed annual clinical neurological examinations, including an evaluation of neurological hard signs (NHSs), presence of tremor and neurological soft signs (NSSs).

[Dural sinus thrombosis].

Dural sinus thrombosis is a rare condition and is often underdiagnosed. Because of its potentially lethal complications, it should always be considered in acute headache differential diagnosis. The authors present a report of two cases, both diagnosed on our department.

[Dietary patterns associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a Brazilian city].

Objective: To identify the dietary patterns of individuals living in the urban area of São Paulo, Brazil, and to investigate the association between these patterns and biological, sociodemographic, and behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Method: A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was carried out with a population-based probabilistic sample. The 2,100 participants of both sexes were from 15 to 59 years of age.

Lipids revert inert Abeta amyloid fibrils to neurotoxic protofibrils that affect learning in mice.

Although soluble oligomeric and protofibrillar assemblies of Abeta-amyloid peptide cause synaptotoxicity and potentially contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD), the role of mature Abeta-fibrils in the amyloid plaques remains controversial. A widely held view in the field suggests that the fibrillization reaction proceeds 'forward' in a near-irreversible manner from the monomeric Abeta peptide through toxic protofibrillar intermediates, which subsequently mature into biologically inert amyloid fibrils that are found in plaques. Here, we show that natural lipids destabilize and rapidly resolubilize mature Abeta amyloid fibers.