The analgesic actions of centrally administered celecoxib are mediated by endogenous opioids.

Celecoxib is a selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and blocks prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis associated with inflammatory conditions. In a model of peripherally induced inflammatory pain in rats, celecoxib, given systemically, induced a state of hypoalgesia where the nociceptive threshold was raised above basal values, an effect not observed after treatment with non-selective inhibitors of COX (indomethacin, piroxicam). Here, we have assessed the possibility that these atypical effects of celecoxib could be mediated by action at a site in the CNS.

An improved extraction protocol for metagenomic DNA from a soil of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest.

The need for the prospecting for and identification of new biomolecules is a reality. Molecular techniques allow access to the metabolic potential of microorganisms via the isolation of DNA from environmental samples, i.e.

Differential involvement of cyclooxygenase isoforms in neutrophil migration in vivo and in vitro.

Pretreatment using celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 inhibitor, or indomethacin, a nonselective COX inhibitor, reduced lypopolyssaccharide (LPS)-induced leukocyte migration to the rat peritoneal cavity. The effect of celecoxib (12 mg/kg) or indomethacin (2 mg/kg) on neutrophil chemotaxis induced by formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP) in an in vitro chemotactic assay (Boyden chamber) was investigated. Celecoxib and indomethacin inhibited chemotaxis induced by FMLP (Control=26.

Different mechanisms underlie the analgesic actions of paracetamol and dipyrone in a rat model of inflammatory pain.

Background And Purpose: The analgesics, paracetamol and dipyrone are weak inhibitors of the cyclooxygenase isoforms 1 or 2 (COX-1, COX-2) but more potent on COX-3. Both are also weak anti-inflammatory agents, relative to their analgesic and antipyretic activities. In a model of inflammatory pain mediated by prostaglandins, both compounds were analgesic.

Metabolic and performance effects of raisins versus sports gel as pre-exercise feedings in cyclists.

Research suggests that pre-exercise sources of dietary carbohydrate with varying glycemic indexes may differentially affect metabolism and endurance. This study was designed to examine potential differences in metabolism and cycling performance after consumption of moderate glycemic raisins vs. a high glycemic commercial sports gel.

Microbial surfactant activities from a petrochemical landfarm in a humid tropical region of Brazil.

The goal of this study was to assess the presence and surfactant potential of naturally occurring microbes from a tropical soil with petrochemical contamination. Microorganisms in a soil sample from a Brazilian landfarm were isolated and grown on petroleum as the sole carbon source. Of 60 isolates screened for petroleum-based growth, 7 demonstrated surfactant activities by the drop-collapse methodology over various types of oils.

[Preliminary results of Artisan phakic intraocular lens implantation to correct myopia].

Purpose: To observe the preliminary results based on the efficacy, stability and safety of Artisan anterior chamber intra-ocular lens for the correction of myopia in the first 6 months.

Methods: A retrospective study of 18 patients (34 eyes) that received the implantation of Artisan anterior chamber intraocular lens for the correction of myopia was conducted. Best visual preoperative acuity, best visual postoperative acuity, dynamic preoperative and postoperative refraction, loss and improvement of lines of vision and complications were evaluated.

Right ventricular dysfunction is an independent predictor of survival in patients with dilated chronic Chagas' cardiomyopathy.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) involvement is a typical feature of Chagas' disease. In patients with congestive heart failure of other etiologies, RV dysfunction is a strong indicator of poor prognosis. However, the prognostic value of RV dysfunction in patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy has not been reported.

Epithelial herpetic simplex keratitis recurrence and graft survival after corneal transplantation in patients with and without atopy.

Purpose: To compare the incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) epithelial recurrence and graft survival after penetrating keratoplasty (PK) in patients with and without self-reported atopy.

Design: Retrospective cohort comparative study.

Setting: Cornea Service, Wills Eye Hospital.

Efficacy of oral antiviral prophylaxis in preventing ocular herpes simplex virus recurrences in patients with and without self-reported atopy.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of oral antiviral prophylactic treatment for herpes simplex virus (HSV) recurrences in patients with and without self-reported atopy.

Design: Retrospective cohort comparative study.

Methods: setting: Cornea Service, Wills Eye Hospital.

Oral surgery with fibrin sealants in patients with bleeding disorders: a case report.

Surgical treatment of patients with bleeding disorders requires careful planning. The use of fibrin sealants following a dental extraction in a patient with von Willebrand's disease is presented in this report. A female patient with von Willebrand's disease had an extraction of a maxillary right third molar.

Comparative study of ocular herpes simplex virus in patients with and without self-reported atopy.

Purpose: To compare the characteristics of ocular herpes simplex virus (HSV) in patients with and without atopy.

Design: Retrospective cohort comparative study.

Methods: Patients who presented at the Cornea Service, Wills Eye Hospital, between March 2003 and March 2004 who had been previously diagnosed in the same institution as having ocular HSV diagnosis or were just diagnosed as having the disease were asked to complete a study questionnaire that enabled categorization into atopic and nonatopic.

Endogenous opioids mediate the hypoalgesia induced by selective inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase 2 in rat paws treated with carrageenan.

Mechanical hyperalgesia induced in rat paws by carrageenan (250microg) was modified by pre-treatment with three selective inhibitors of cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2); celecoxib, rofecoxib and SC236. These inhibitors raised the nociceptive threshold above the normal, non-inflamed, level, inducing a state of hypoalgesia. Such hypoalgesia was observed in different strains of rat (Holtzman, Wistar and Sprague-Dawley) and after different modes of administration of the COX-2 inhibitor (locally, in the paw, or systemically).

Effects of pre- and postfresh transition diets varying in dietary energy density on metabolic status of periparturient dairy cows.

Effects of dietary energy density during late gestation and early lactation on metabolic status of periparturient cows were studied. Four weeks before expected calving, animals were fed a low (DL; 1.58 Mcal of NEL/kg) or high energy density diet (DH; 1.

Dried blood spots as a practical and inexpensive source for human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus surveillance.

Passive surveillance of infectious diseases with a high percentage of asymptomatic cases or long incubation periods, such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), does not reflect the current transmission dynamics. Thus, a multi-strategic surveillance, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sentinel surveillance proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), is necessary. The Brazilian HIV sentinel surveillance was started in May 1992 with this purpose.

The precore mutation is associated with severity of liver damage in Brazilian patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background: The clinical relevance of the G1896A precore mutation in chronic hepatitis B is still poorly understood.

Objectives: To assess the frequency of G1896A precore mutation in Brazilian patients with chronic hepatitis B, as well as its relation to the viral genotype, serum HBV-DNA levels and liver damage.

Study Design: Fifty chronic hepatitis B patients (29 HBeAg-negative and 21 HBeAg-positive) were studied.

Complications associated with anterior basement membrane dystrophy after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To evaluate the complications associated with anterior basement membrane dystrophy (ABMD) after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).

Setting: Cornea Service, Wills Eye Hospital, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Methods: In this noncontrolled retrospective case series, the medical records of all patients with LASIK complications seen in the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Hospital from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2002, were reviewed.

Effects of sodium bicarbonate on VO2 kinetics during heavy exercise.

Purpose: Sodium bicarbonate was used to investigate the effect of blood pH on VO2 kinetics during heavy exercise.

Methods: On separate days, 10 active subjects performed two 6-min cycling bouts (208 +/- 12 W) at 25 W above their ventilatory threshold. Each subject ingested 0.

Effect of blue staining of expandable hydrophilic intraocular lenses on contrast sensitivity and glare vision.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of trypan blue staining of expandable hydrophilic acrylic intraocular lenses (IOLs) on contrast sensitivity and glare.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, Federal University, and Oculistas Associados, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: Phacoemulsification with expandable hydrophilic IOL implantation was performed in 19 eyes.

Congenital corneal opacities in a cornea referral practice.

Purpose: To address the primary causes of the congenital corneal opacities seen on the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Hospital (Philadelphia, PA), the associated systemic anomalies and their management.

Methods: Retrospective review of the medical records of all patients with the diagnosis of congenital corneal opacities seen at the Cornea Service from January 1, 1992 to June 30, 2003. Children 12 years old or younger at the first visit to our department were included in the study.

New onset of herpes simplex virus epithelial keratitis after penetrating keratoplasty.

Purpose: To report a series of patients with no previous history of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection who had new onset of herpetic keratitis after penetrating keratoplasty (PK).

Design: Noncontrolled, retrospective case series.

Methods: We included in the study the patients who had new onset of herpetic keratitis after penetrating keratoplasty for corneal diseases unrelated to HSV infection who were seen at the Cornea Service at Wills Eye Hospital (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) from January 1996 to December 2002.

Long-term acyclovir use to prevent recurrent ocular herpes simplex virus infection.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of more than 12 months of oral acyclovir therapy in reducing recurrences of ocular herpes simplex virus.

Methods: We retrospectively compared ocular herpes simplex virus recurrence in 2 groups of patients. In group 1, patients used oral acyclovir for at least 12 months and then discontinued the treatment.

Effects of transition diets varying in dietary energy density on lactation performance and ruminal parameters of dairy cows.

Forty cows and twenty heifers were used to study the effects of dietary energy density during late gestation and early lactation on lactation performance and ruminal parameters. A 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments was used. During prepartum (-28 d to calving), animals were fed a low energy density diet [DL; 1.

Utilization of nitriles by yeasts isolated from a Brazilian gold mine.

Yeast strains from the genera Candida, Debaryomyces, Aureobasidium, Geotrichum, Pichia, Rhodotorula, Tremella, Hanseniaspora, and Cryptococcus were isolated from samples of a gold mine from liquid extraction circuit. These strains were tested for their ability to utilize acetonitrile at 12 mM as the sole nitrogen source. The yeasts that grew using acetonitrile at 12 mM were tested in the presence of acetonitrile, isobutyronitrile, methacrylnitrile, and propionitrile at concentrations of 12, 24, 48, 97, and 120 mM.