Structure, Solubility and Stability of Orbifloxacin Crystal Forms: Hemihydrate versus Anhydrate.

Orbifloxacin (ORBI) is a widely used antimicrobial drug of the fluoroquinolone class. In the official pharmaceutical compendia the existence of polymorphism in this active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is reported. No crystal structure has been reported for this API and as described in the literature, its solubility is very controversial.

Cancer screening in Portugal: sex differences in prevalence, awareness of organized programmes and perception of benefits and adverse effects.

Background: Cancer screening has contributed to downward trends in cancer mortality, but is also associated with adverse effects, which highlights the importance of promoting the participation based on informed decisions.

Objectives: We aimed to describe the use of cancer screening (either in organized programmes or as opportunistic screening), awareness of organized programmes and perception of its potential benefits and adverse effects, depicting possible sex differences.

Design And Methods: We evaluated 1624 Portuguese-speaking dwellers, aged between 16 and 79 years, through face-to-face interviews.

The infantile-onset form of Pompe disease: an autopsy diagnosis.

Pompe disease (PD) is a rare, inherited autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by the deficiency of the lysosomal acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA) enzyme described in 1932 by the Dutch pathologist Joannes Cassianus Pompe. The prevalence of PD ranges from 1:40,000 to 1:300,000 births and depends on geographic and ethnic factors. Clinical manifestations may vary from a rapidly progressive disabling disease with cardiomegaly, hepatomegaly, weakness, generalized hypotonia, and death within the first year of life, to a mild presentation characterized by slowly progressive myopathy predominantly involving the skeletal muscles.

Does the knowledge of emergency contraception affect its use among high school adolescents?

This study aimed to test how knowledge on emergency contraception (according to age at sexual initiation, type of school, and knowing someone that has already used emergency contraception) influences the method's use. This was a cross-sectional study in a probabilistic sample of students 15-19 years of age enrolled in public and private middle schools in a medium-sized city in Southeast Brazil (n = 307). Data were collected in 2011 using a self-administered questionnaire.

Effect of Carapa guianensis Aublet (Andiroba) and Orbignya phalerata (Babassu) in colonic healing in rats.

Objective: to evaluate the healing effect of the babassu aqueous extract and andiroba oil on open wounds in the cecum of rats.

Methods: fifty-four Wistar rats were divided into three groups of 18: 1) babassu group with application of aqueous extract of babassu; 2) andiroba group with application of the oil; and 3) control group, with application of saline solution. All procedures were done by gavage.

Polarization effects on the electric properties of urea and thiourea molecules in solid phase.

We present theoretical results for the dipole moment, linear polarizability, and first hyperpolarizability of the urea and thiourea molecules in solid phase. The in-crystal electric properties were determined by applying a supermolecule approach in combination with an iterative electrostatic scheme, in which the surrounding molecules are represented by point charges. It is found for both urea and thiourea molecules that the influence of the polarization effects is mild for the linear polarizability, but it is marked for the dipole moment and first hyperpolarizability.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Power of Food Scale for Use by Adult Populations in Portugal.

Introduction: The Power of Food Scale measures appetite for, rather than consumption of, palatable foods - a construct frequently designated as hedonic hunger. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Portuguese version of the Power of Food Scale, namely reliability and construct validity.

Material And Methods: Data was obtained from 1266 adult participants sampled from three different populations in Portugal: two nonclinical samples and one multi-center sample of severely obese candidates for weight-loss surgery.

Five putative nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase genes are expressed in Trichomonas vaginalis.

Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan that parasitizes the human urogenital tract causing trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease. The parasite has unique genomic characteristics such as a large genome size and expanded gene families. Ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDase) is an enzyme responsible for hydrolyzing nucleoside tri- and diphosphates and has already been biochemically characterized in T.

Analysis of the healing process of the wounds occurring in rats using laser therapy in association with hydrocolloid.

Purpose: To evaluate wound healing in rats by using low-level laser therapy (LLLT) associated with hydrocolloid occlusive dressing.

Methods: Forty male, adult, Wistar rats were used, distributed into four groups: LG (received 2 J/cm² of laser therapy); HG (treated with hydrocolloid); LHG (treated with 2 J/cm² of laser therapy and hydrocolloid); and the CG (treated with 1 mL of 0.9% saline).

Identification and proportion of the enantiomers of the antihypertensive drug chlortalidone in its Form II by high quality single-crystal X-ray diffraction data.

Chlortalidone (CTD) is a diuretic drug largely used as part of antihypertensive therapies. It is marketed as an equimolar mixture of its enantiomers in the racemic crystal phase named Form I, despite of the higher aqueous solubility of another crystal form. The latter, named Form II, was thought to contain both enantiomers as a racemic conglomerate, i.

Modulatory effect of iron chelators on adenosine deaminase activity and gene expression in Trichomonas vaginalis.

Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellate protozoan that parasitises the urogenital human tract and causes trichomoniasis. During the infection, the acquisition of nutrients, such as iron and purine and pyrimidine nucleosides, is essential for the survival of the parasite. The enzymes for purinergic signalling, including adenosine deaminase (ADA), which degrades adenosine to inosine, have been characterised in T.

Insulin Resistance in Nondiabetic Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: Associations with Body Composition, Peritoneal Transport, and Peritoneal Glucose Absorption.

Background And Objectives: Insulin resistance has been associated with cardiovascular disease in peritoneal dialysis patients. Few studies have addressed the impact of fast transport status or dialysis prescription on insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to test whether insulin resistance is associated with obesity parameters, peritoneal transport rate, and glucose absorption.

Assessing quality of life in severe obesity: development and psychometric properties of the ORWELL-R.

Purpose: Several health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) dimensions are affected by obesity. Our goal was to characterize the psychometric properties of the ORWELL-R, a new obesity-related quality-of-life instrument for assessing the "individual experience of overweightness".

Methods: This psychometric assessment included two different samples: one multicenter clinical sample, used for assessing internal consistency, construct validity and temporal reliability; and a community sample (collected through a cross-sectional mailing survey design), used for additional construct validity assessment and model fit confirmation.

Effect of constituents from samaras of Austroplenckia populnea (Celastraceae) on human cancer cells.

Background: Aiming the continuity of the studies of Austroplenckia populnea, Brazilian species of the Celastraceae family, in the present study, it was investigated the effect of crude extracts obtained with ethanol, ethyl acetate and chloroform and two purified constituents, proanthocyanidin A and 4'-O-methylepigallocatechin, both isolated from its samaras, on cancer cell proliferation assays.

Materials And Methods: The human cancer cells lines MCF-7 (ductal breast carcinoma), A549 (lung cancer), HS578T (ductal breast carcinoma) and non-cancer HEK293 (embryonic kidney cells) were treated with different concentrations of extracts and constituents and the effect was observed through the acid phosphatase method. The chemical structures of the purified compounds were identified by the respective IR and (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data.

Optimal Reference Genes for Gene Expression Normalization in Trichomonas vaginalis.

Trichomonas vaginalis is the etiologic agent of trichomonosis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease worldwide. This infection is associated with several health consequences, including cervical and prostate cancers and HIV acquisition. Gene expression analysis has been facilitated because of available genome sequences and large-scale transcriptomes in T.

Correlation between mass and volume of collected blood with positivity of blood cultures.

Background: The collection of blood cultures is an extremely important method in the management of patients with suspected infection. Microbiology laboratories should monitor blood culture collection.

Methods: Over an 8-month period we developed a prospective, observational study in an adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Overhydration prevalence in peritoneal dialysis - A 2 year longitudinal analysis.

Background And Objectives: Hypervolemia is a major concern in dialysis patients, and is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and death. Cross sectional analysis have previously demonstrated that peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients are not more overhydrated when compared to haemodialysiś ones. This study was designed to evaluate longitudinal trends in hydration status and corporal composition in a PD population.

The use of sugar and alcohol industry waste in the adsorption of potentially toxic metals.

One of the waste products of the industrial process of the sugar and alcohol agribusiness is filter cake (FC). This waste product has high levels of organic matter, mainly proteins and lipids, and is rich in calcium, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous. In this work we characterized samples of FC from sugar and alcohol industries located in sugarcane-producing regions in Brazil and assessed the adsorption of potentially toxic metals (Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Ni(II) and Cr(III)) by this waste in mono- and multi-elemental systems, seeking to use FC as an adsorbent in contaminated environments.

High rates of double-stranded RNA viruses and Mycoplasma hominis in Trichomonas vaginalis clinical isolates in South Brazil.

Trichomonas vaginalis is the etiological agent of trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) in world, with 276.4 million new cases each year. T.

Use of agroindustrial wastes (açai fiber and glycerol) in the preparation of cookies.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of adding industrial byproducts (açai fiber and glycerol) on the physical, physicochemical, and sensory properties of cookies. The statistical analysis showed that only the parameters of water content and water activity are significantly influenced by the amount of açai fiber added and by the fiber's particle size. Through sensory analysis of crispness and the flavor, it was found that the best percentage of açai fiber and the best particle size added to the cookie formulation were 10 % and +28 mesh, respectively.

Agreement on the prescription of antimicrobial drugs.

Background: There is universal awareness of the difficulties faced by doctors when prescribing antimicrobials.

Methods: Over a six-month period patients hospitalized in the ICU and under treatment with antibiotics and/or antifungals were eligible to participate in the study. The data were assessed by two infectious diseases specialists.

[Feedback, a pedagogical tool in the emergency department resuscitation room].

The specific care provided in the emergency department resuscitation room requires a high level of knowledge, skill and competence. The lessons learned methodology is a dynamic approach and an educational tool which promotes the transfer of knowledge and the continuous improvement of the quality and safety of care.

An experience of liver transplantation in Latin America: a medical center in Colombia.

Objectives: Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for acute and chronic liver failure, for selected cases of tumors, and for conditions resulting from errors in metabolism. This paper reports the experience of a medical center in Latin America.

Methods: Were conducted 305 orthotopic liver transplantations on 284 patients between 2004 and 2010.