Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are used in several medical and environmental applications, but their mechanism of action and hazardous effects to early developmental stages of fish remain unknown. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the developmental toxicity of citrate-functionalized IONPs (γ-FeO NPs), in comparison with its dissolved counterpart, in zebrafish (Danio rerio) after static and semi-static exposure. Embryos were exposed to environmental concentrations of both iron forms (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Obesity is a highly prevalent condition worldwide that aggravates symptoms of already existing conditions such as asthma and COPD. The limited effectiveness of inhaled medications in these individuals may be related to anatomic characteristics of their upper airways, mainly due to compressive factors.
Methods: Controlled clinical trial with obese and nonobese individuals.
Water safety is a world-wide concern and several efforts have been made in order to ensure the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. Water quality monitoring must be performed with an integrated approach using biomonitor organisms allied to water parameters. Nonetheless, very few studies have focused on biomarker responses in neotropical fish, especially in the freshwater ecosystem of Brazilian Cerrado savanna.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe duodenum, the first portion of the small bowel, is divided into four segments and extends to both retro- and intraperitoneal spaces. Some conditions arise primarily from the duodenum, but it can be secondarily affected by processes that involve neighboring structures. When duodenal emergencies are not identified and treated promptly, they may result in high morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have been applied in several sectors in the environmental field, such as aquatic nanoremediation, due to their unique superparamagnetic and nanospecific properties. However, the knowledge of chronic toxicity of IONPs on aquatic invertebrate remains limited. Thus, the present study aimed to analyze the chronic toxicity of gluconic acid-functionalized IONPs (GLA-IONPs) and their dissolved counterpart (FeCl) to freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emerging growth of nanotechnology has attracted great attention due to its application in the parasite and intermediate host control. However, the knowledge concerning the mechanism of action (MoA) and toxicity of nanomaterials (NMs) to snails remain unclear. In this context, the present study revised the historical use of snails as experimental models in nanotoxicological studies and summarized the MoA and toxicity of NMs in aquatic and land snails.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnvenomation by coralsnakes (Micrurus spp.) is characterized by blockade of peripheral neurotransmission mediated by the presence of α- and β-neurotoxins. However, little is known about their cardiovascular activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The objective of this study was to better understand how the lack of emergency child and obstetric care can be related to maternal and neonatal mortality levels.
Methods: We performed spatiotemporal geospatial analyses using data from Brazilian municipalities. An emergency service accessibility index was derived using the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) for 951 hospitals.
In this communication, it was evaluated the production of fatty acid ethyl ester (FAAE) from the free fatty acids of babassu oil catalyzed by lipase from (RML) immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) coated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), FeO@APTES-RML or RML-MNP for short. MNPs were prepared by co-precipitation coated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and used as a support to immobilize RML (immobilization yield: 94.7 ± 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Trop
November 2020
In this era of precision medicine, there is an increasingly urgent need for highly sensitive tests for detecting tumors such as colon cancer (CC), a silent disease where the first symptoms may take 10-15 years to appear. Mass spectrometry-based lipidomics is an emerging tool for such clinical diagnosis. We used ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry operating in high energy collision spectral acquisition mode (MS) mode (UPLC-QTOF-MS) and gas chromatography (GC) to investigate differences between the plasmatic lipidic composition of CC patients and control (CTR) subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus reuteri applied locally or systemically with scaling and root planing (SRP) to the treatment of experimental periodontitis (EP) in rats treated with 5-fluorouracil.
Methods: A cotton ligature was installed on the molars of rats. The animals (n = 54) underwent chemotherapy and were divided into groups: SRP (n = 18), scaling and root planing only; LP (n = 18), SRP and 4 sessions of local probiotic (PRO); SP, SRP and 4 sessions of systemic PRO.
Systemic scorpion envenomation is characterized by massive neurotransmitter release from peripheral nerves mediated primarily by scorpion venoms neurotoxins. Tityus bahiensis is one of the medically most important species in Brazil, but its venom pharmacology, especially regarding to peripheral nervous system, is poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aimed to review the epidemiology, clinical manifestation, laboratory diagnosis, treatment, and future perspectives related to COVID-19 infections. The following electronic databases were used searched: MEDLINE, SCIELO, and LILACS. It became clear that COVID-19 infections occur through exposure to the virus, and both the immunosuppressed and healthy population appear susceptible.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the delivery efficiency of budesonide aerosol via a mesh nebulizer in a neonatal ventilator model.
Design/method: In an in-vitro ventilated neonatal model, budesonide suspension was administered using a mesh nebulizer. A collection filter was placed distal to the endotracheal tube and budesonide captured by the filter was measured using UV spectroscopy.
Currently, there are major EU-based projects to better utilise wearables as useful diagnostic aids/tools in clinical settings as well for deployment in the home to capture ageing processes. To date, there has been little investigation of the translation of those tools beyond the geographical regions in which they were developed and implemented. Our objective was to examine pragmatic issues and challenges in the use of wearables in a diverse, low-resource, middle-income country like Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
September 2020
Effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) remains one of the major pollutants of aquatic environments; however, knowledge about its ecotoxic effects at fish early life stages is limited. The ecotoxicity of effluent from Brazilian WWTPs was herein analyzed based on responses of multiple biomarkers in the zebrafish embryotoxicity test (ZET). Ecotoxicity was analyzed based on mortality rate, hatching rate, spontaneous movement rate (neurotoxicity), heart rate (cardiotoxicity), frequency of morphological changes and morphometric parameters during 144 h exposure time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlexible electronics can be developed with a low-cost and simple fabrication process while being environmentally friendly. Conductive silver inks have been the most applied material in flexible substrates. This study evaluated the performance of different conductive ink formulations using silver nanoparticles by studying the material properties, the inkjet printing process, and application based on electrical impedance spectroscopy using a buffer solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParticipation of racial/ethnic minority and immigrant populations in research studies is essential to understand and address health disparities. Nonetheless, these populations are often underrepresented in research because of limited participation that may be due to barriers to participation such as fear and mistrust of research, lack of or limited access to healthcare and social services, time and employment constraints, participation-associated costs (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, the concept of lipase cocktail has been proposed in the ultrasound-assisted hydrolysis of coconut oil. Lipase from (TLL), lipase from (RML), and lipase B from (CALB) were evaluated as biocatalysts in different combinations. The best conversion (33.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhotodiagnosis Photodyn Ther
September 2020
Background: Periodontitis is one of the most prevalent inflammatory diseases in humans. It is associated with the presence of bacteria and is mediated by the host's immune response This study represents a systematic review and meta-analysis trying to answer the following question: "What is the effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) compared to systemic antibiotic therapy with amoxicillin plus metronidazole (AMX+MTZ) on the non-surgical treatment of periodontitis?".
Methods: Clinical studies comparing aPDT with systemic use of AMX+MTZ were searched until January of 2020 using the databases: PubMed, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, Web of Science and Scielo, as well manual searches in related journals.
Objective: To update findings of observational analytical studies on the association between occupational exposure to organophosphates and hematologic malignancies.
Methodology: Systematic literature review, including cohort and case-control studies, without limitation of publication time, in Portuguese and English. The articles were traced from June 2017 to July 2019 in PubMed, MEDLINE, LILACS, Web of Science, and Scopus databases.
Several studies suggest the involvement of glutamatergic neurotransmission in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Some NMDA glutamatergic receptor antagonists, such as the general anesthetic ketamine, have shown anti-OCD effects in preclinical and clinical studies. Therefore, we investigated whether the inhalational anesthetics isoflurane and sevoflurane, which are general anesthetics acting as NMDA receptor antagonists, would induce the same effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRaddi is a well-known medicinal plant native of South America. This species has demonstrated important biological activities such as antihypertensive and vasodilator, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. However, no studies have been, so far, reported with the fruits of as a protector of the placenta against Zika virus infection and as sunscreen agents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF