Experimental supratrigonal cystectomy. Evaluation of long-term complications.

Objective: The present study aims at assessing the occurrence of pyelonephritis and long-term complications in rats submitted to surgical reduction of bladder capacity.

Materials And Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were submitted to supratrigonal cystectomy (animals) or sham operation ( animals) and sacrificed 2, 4 and 6 months after the surgical procedure. The arterial blood pressure and serum creatinine levels were assessed before the surgery and at the time of the sacrifice.

Clinical trial of abstinence-based vouchers and cognitive-behavioral therapy for cannabis dependence.

Ninety cannabis-dependent adults seeking treatment were randomly assigned to receive cognitive-behavioral therapy, abstinence-based voucher incentives, or their combination. Treatment duration was 14 weeks, and outcomes were assessed for 12 months posttreatment. Findings suggest that (a) abstinence-based vouchers were effective for engendering extended periods of continuous marijuana abstinence during treatment, (b) cognitive-behavioral therapy did not add to this during-treatment effect, and (c) cognitive-behavioral therapy enhanced the posttreatment maintenance of the initial positive effect of vouchers on abstinence.

Nasal paraganglioma: a case report.

Paragangliomas are tumors of the autonomic nervous system, arising from paraganglionic tissue. Paragangliomas of the head and neck region are very rare. In the head and neck, the most common sites of origin of this neoplasm are the carotid body, the jugular bulb and the vagal body.

Structural and hemostatic activities of a sulfated galactofucan from the brown alga Spatoglossum schroederi. An ideal antithrombotic agent?

The brown alga Spatoglossum schroederi contains three fractions of sulfated polysaccharides. One of them was purified by acetone fractionation, ion exchange, and molecular sieving chromatography. It has a molecular size of 21.

Fucan inhibits Chinese hamster ovary cell (CHO) adhesion to fibronectin by binding to the extracellular matrix.

In recent years, sulfated fucans have emerged as an important class of natural biopolymers. In this study, the anti-adhesive activity of a fucan from the brown seaweed Spatoglossum schröederi was analyzed using tumorigenic cells: wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1) and the mutant type deficient in xylosyltransferase (CHO-745). Fibronectin (FN) was used as substrate for cell attachment.

Partial characterization and anticoagulant activity of a heterofucan from the brown seaweed Padina gymnospora.

The brown algae Padina gymnospora contain different fucans. Powdered algae were submitted to proteolysis with the proteolytic enzyme maxataze. The first extract of the algae was constituted of polysaccharides contaminated with lipids, phenols, etc.

A xylogalactofucan from the brown seaweed Spatoglossum schröederi stimulates the synthesis of an antithrombotic heparan sulfate from endothelial cells.

The brown seaweed Spatoglossum schröederi (Dictyotaceae) contains three main fucans (fucans A, B and C) with different mobility in electrophoresis. The fucan with highest mobility (fucan C) was precipitated with 2.0 volumes of acetone, purified using a combination of ion exchange chromatography and electrophoresis.

Amazonia and the modern carbon cycle: lessons learned.

In this paper, we review some critical issues regarding carbon cycling in Amazonia, as revealed by several studies conducted in the Large Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA). We evaluate both the contribution of this magnificent biome for the global net primary productivity/net ecosystem exchange (NPP/NEE) and the feedbacks of climate change on the dynamics of Amazonia. In order to place Amazonia in a global perspective and make the carbon flux obtained through the LBA project comparable with global carbon budgets, we extrapolated NPP/NEE values found by LBA studies to the entire area of the Brazilian Amazon covered by rainforest.

CFTR Cl- channel function in native human colon correlates with the genotype and phenotype in cystic fibrosis.

Background & Aims: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by over 1000 mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene and presents with a widely variable phenotype. Genotype-phenotype studies identified CFTR mutations that were associated with pancreatic sufficiency (PS). Residual Cl- channel function was shown for selected PS mutations in heterologous cells.

Cyclophosphamide in the treatment of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Prednisone is the initial treatment of primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. However, when immunosuppressive agents in combination with steroids are used in the treatment of prednisone-dependent and prednisone-resistant patients the remission rate is variable. We report a long-term trial using cyclophosphamide (2.

Heparins and heparinoids: occurrence, structure and mechanism of antithrombotic and hemorrhagic activities.

The correlation between structure, anticlotting, antithrombotic and hemorrhagic activities of heparin, heparan sulfate, low molecular weight heparins and heparin-like compounds from various sources that are in used in clinical practice or under development is briefly reviewed. Heparin-like molecules composed exclusively of iduronic acid 2-O-sulfate residues have weak anticlotting activities, whereas molecules that contain both iduronic acid 2-O sulfate, iduronic acid and small amounts of glucuronic acid, such as heparin, or mixed amounts of glucuronic and iduronic acids (mollusk heparins) possess high anticlotting and anti-Xa activities. These results also suggest that a proper combination of these elements might produce a strong antithrombotic agent.

Transcanal labyrinthectomy in childhood: report of a case.

Vertigo in children is caused by several factors. One such factor is viruses (e.g.

Heterofucans from Dictyota menstrualis have anticoagulant activity.

Fucan is a term used to denote a family of sulfated L-fucose-rich polysaccharides which are present in the extracellular matrix of brown seaweed and in the egg jelly coat of sea urchins. Plant fucans have several biological activities, including anticoagulant and antithrombotic, related to the structural and chemical composition of polysaccharides. We have extracted sulfated polysaccharides from the brown seaweed Dictyota menstrualis by proteolytic digestion, followed by separation into 5 fractions by sequential acetone precipitation.

Carbon in Amazon forests: unexpected seasonal fluxes and disturbance-induced losses.

The net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide was measured by eddy covariance methods for 3 years in two old-growth forest sites near Santarém, Brazil. Carbon was lost in the wet season and gained in the dry season, which was opposite to the seasonal cycles of both tree growth and model predictions. The 3-year average carbon loss was 1.

First experiments on diffraction-enhanced imaging at LNLS.

Diffraction-enhanced images have been obtained using two silicon crystals in a non-dispersive set-up at the XRD2 beamline at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS). A first asymmetrically cut silicon crystal using the (333) reflection vertically expanded the monochromated beam from 1 mm to 20 mm allowing the imaging of the whole sample without movements. A symmetrically cut Si(333) second crystal was used as a Bragg analyzer.

Distribution and genetic diversity of tomato-infecting begomoviruses in Brazil.

Tomato-infecting begomoviruses have been reported throughout Brazil since the introduction of the B biotype of Bemisia tabaci. Here, we report a large scale survey on the distribution and genetic diversity of tomato-infecting begomoviruses. Tomato samples with typical begomovirus symptoms were collected in seven different states, comprising the major tomato growing areas of the country.

Race and glomerulonephritis in patients with and without hepatosplenic Schistosomiasis mansoni.

Background/aims: United States investigators have shown evidence of higher susceptibility to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in blacks than in whites. This association between race and FSGS has not been assessed outside the US. The present study assesses the association between race and type of glomerulonephritis in a sample of Brazilian patients, taking into account the presence of the hepatosplenic form of Schistosomiasis mansoni (HSM).

Study of chronic hemolytic anaemia patients in Rio de Janeiro: prevalence of anti-human parvovirus B19 IgG antibodies and the development aplastic crises.

The prevalence of anti-human parvovirus B19 IgG antibodies was determined in sera from 165 chronic hemolytic anemia patients, receiving medical care at Instituto Estadual de Hematologia (IEHE), Rio de Janeiro, during the year of 1994. This sample represents around 10% of the chronic hemolytic anemia patients attending at IEHE. Most of these patients (140) have sickle cell disease.

Ganglioside alterations in the central nervous system of rats chronically injected with methylmalonic and propionic acids.

Neurological dysfunction and structural cerebral abnormalities are commonly found in patients with methylmalonic and propionic acidemia. However, the mechanisms underlying the neuropathology of these disorders are poorly understood. We have previously demonstrated that methylmalonic and propionic acids induce a significant reduction of ganglioside N-acetylneuraminic acid in the brain of rats subjected to chronic administration of these metabolites.

Childhood pneumonia: clinical aspects associated with hospitalization or death.

Objective: To determine which available information at an Emergency Room (ER) consultation is associated with hospitalization or death among children with pneumonia.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: The ER of one university and one private hospital.

Effects of socioeconomic status on presentation with acute lower respiratory tract disease in children in Salvador, Northeast Brazil.

Two different socioeconomic groups of children with pneumonia were studied, and their clinical and demographic aspects were evaluated. The diagnosis of pneumonia was based on findings of cough and tachypnea, or on crackles on auscultation or on radiologically confirmed infiltrate. This was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the Professor Hosannah de Oliveira Pediatric Center, which cares for children of lower socioeconomic status (PHOPC), and at one private hospital which cares for children from middle to high socioeconomic status (Aliança Hospital, AH).