A hybrid material as a sorbent phase for the disposable pipette extraction technique enhances efficiency in the determination of phenolic endocrine-disrupting compounds.

In this study, the hybrid material 3-n-propyl(3-methylpyridinium) silsesquioxane chloride (Si3PyCl) was synthesized and investigated as a novel sorbent phase for the disposable pipette extraction (DPX) technique coupled to high-performance liquid chromatography-florescence detection. This sorbent phase was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Aqueous samples containing the phenolic endocrine-disrupting compounds bisphenol A (BPA), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP), 4-octylphenol (4-OP) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) were subjected to DPX procedures and a series of optimizations was performed to determine the ideal extraction conditions using this approach.

[Activity-based management applied in an intensive care unit of a public hospital].

This quantitative study proposed to apply Activity-Based Management in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a teaching hospital Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The objective of applying that tool was to direct the establishment of strategies, aiming at reducing costs and optimizing human, technological, and financial resources used in intensive care. The process of patient admission in the ICU was the focus of the analysis.

Coronary stent implantation in diabetic versus nondiabetic patients. Early and late outcomes.

Objective: To assess whether coronary stenting in diabetic patients provides in-hospital results and clinical evolution similar to those in nondiabetic patients.

Methods: From July '97 to April '99 we performed coronary stent implantation in 386 patients with coronary heart disease, who were divided into two groups: diabetic patients and nondiabetic patients. The in-hospital results and the clinical evolution of each group were retrospectively analyzed.