Chemical composition and evaluation of modulatory of the antibiotic activity from extract and essential oil of Myracrodruon urundeuva

Context: The combination of antibiotics with natural products has demonstrated promising synergistic effects in several therapeutic studies.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a combination of an ethanol extract of Myracrodruon urundeuva Fr. All. (Anacardiaceae) (aroeira plant) and its essential oil with six antimicrobial drugs against multiresistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli from clinical isolates.

Materials and methods: After identification of the chemical components by GC-MS, the antibacterial activity of the natural products and antibiotics was assessed by determining the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the microdilution method and concentrations ranging 8–512?μg/mL and 0.0012–2.5?mg/mL, respectively. Assays were performed to test for a possible synergistic action between the plant products and the antimicrobials, using the extract and the oil at a sub-inhibitory concentration (128?μg/mL) and antibiotic at concentrations varying between 8 and 512?μg/mL.

Results: The GC-MS analysis identified the main compound as δ-carene (80.41%). The MIC of the natural products was >1024?μg/mL, except against S. aureus ATCC25923. Only the combinations of the natural products with gentamicin, amikacin and clindamycin were effective against S. aureus 358, enhancing the antibiotic activity by reducing the MIC.

Conclusions: The extract from aroeira showed a higher antibacterial activity and the oil was more effective in potentiating the activity of conventional antibiotics.     

Prescribed and reported drug use during pregnancy

Few studies describe drug utilization in pregnancy focusing on prescribing practices. This study is part of a larger survey on perinatal care in the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The type of hospital (public, contracted out by the Unified National Health System, or private) determined the stratification of 10,072 hospitalized post-partum women, who were asked about medication used during pregnancy. Hospital records supplied information on drugs prescribed during labor. Drugs were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) system. Another system was used for specific cases of referred use. A mean of 2.08 drugs was prescribed during labor, and a mean of 2.3 was reported during pregnancy. Anesthetics, antibiotics, oxytocin, and analgesics were the most frequently prescribed during labor, with significant differences between strata. Ferrous sulfate, vitamins, scopolamine, and acetaminophen were the main drugs reported during pregnancy. Women who had attempted abortion referred use of various kinds of tea (49.7%) and misoprostol (9.2%). The drug utilization pattern was consistent with the literature. This study offers knowledge on prescribing patterns during labor and self-reported use during pregnancy in both the public and private sectors.     

Impact of untreated dental caries severity on the quality of life of preschool children and their families: a cross-sectional study

Purpose

Untreated dental caries is a persistent oral problem among preschool children. Although there is vast evidence regarding the impact of dental caries on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in this age group, evidence on the impact of untreated caries severity is scarce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of untreated caries severity on the OHRQoL of preschool children and their families.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 563 individuals in the city of Goiania, Brazil. Data were collected through interviews with parents/caregivers and clinical examinations of their children. The OHRQoL was measured by the Brazilian version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale. Untreated dental caries severity was assessed using validated indices. Other independent variables were socioeconomic, toothache prevalence, and the questionnaire respondent. Statistical analysis involved bivariate comparisons and Poisson regression analyses.

Results

A higher prevalence of impact on OHRQoL was found among preschool children with untreated dental caries with clinical consequences (PR 1.31; 95% CI 1.01–1.70) compared to those without caries; those aged 5 years (PR 1.47; 95% CI 1.18–1.82), compared to those aged two; and those with a toothache (PR 1.54; 95% CI 1.34–1.76), compared to those without toothache. Moreover, fathers (PR 0.71; 95% CI 0.55–0.92) and other respondents (PR 0.70; 95% CI 0.52–0.96) perceived less impact on the OHRQoL in comparison to mothers.

Conclusions

Severe untreated dental caries with clinical consequences had a negative impact on the children’s OHRQoL, regardless of toothache and socioeconomic factors.

     

Associations of in Utero Exposure to Perfluorinated Alkyl Acids with Human Semen Quality and Reproductive Hormones in Adult Men

Background: Perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs), persistent chemicals with unique water-, dirt-, and oil-repellent properties, are suspected of having endocrine-disrupting activity. The PFAA compounds perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are found globally in humans; because they readily cross the placental barrier, in utero exposure may be a cause for concern.Objectives: We investigated whether in utero exposure to PFOA and PFOS affects semen quality, testicular volume, and reproductive hormone levels.Methods: We recruited 169 male offspring (19–21 years of age) from a pregnancy cohort established in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1988–1989, corresponding to 37.6% of the eligible sons. Each man provided a semen sample and a blood sample. Semen samples were analyzed for sperm concentration, total sperm count, motility, and morphology, and blood samples were used to measure reproductive hormones. As a proxy for in utero exposure, PFOA and PFOS were measured in maternal blood samples from pregnancy week 30.Results: Multivariable linear regression analysis suggested that in utero exposure to PFOA was associated with lower adjusted sperm concentration (p_trend = 0.01) and total sperm count (p_trend = 0.001) and with higher adjusted levels of luteinizing hormone (p_trend = 0.03) and follicle-stimulating hormone (p_trend = 0.01). PFOS did not appear to be associated with any of the outcomes assessed, before or after adjustment.Conclusions: The results suggest that in utero exposure to PFOA may affect adult human male semen quality and reproductive hormone levels.     

Structural basis for the glucocorticoid response in a mutant human androgen receptor (AR(ccr)) derived from an androgen-independent prostate cancer

The crystal structure of a mutant androgen receptor (AR) ligand-binding domain (LBD) in complex with the agonist 9alpha-fluorocortisol has been determined at 1.95 A resolution. This mutant AR contains two mutations (L701H and T877A) and was previously reported as a high-affinity cortisol/cortisone responsive AR (AR(ccr)) isolated from the androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell lines MDA PCa 2a and 2b (Zhao et al. Nature Med. 2000, 6, 703-6). The three-dimensional structure of the AR(ccr) LBD complexed with 9alpha-fluorocortisol shows the typical conformation of an agonist-bound nuclear receptor in which helix 12 is precisely positioned as a "lid" for the ligand-binding pocket. Binding of 9alpha-fluorocortisol to the AR(ccr) involves favorable hydrogen bond patterns on the C17 and C21 substituents of the ligand due to the mutations at 701 and 877 in the AR(ccr). Our studies provide the first structural explanation for the glucocorticoid activation of AR(ccr), which is important for the development of new therapeutic treatments for androgen-independent prostate cancer.     

Morphometrical evidence for speciation within Bolivian Lutzomyia aragaoi (Diptera: Psychodidae)

For Bolivian specimens of Lutzomyia aragaoi (Costa Lima, A., 1932. Sobre os phlebotomos americanos (Diptera, Psychodidae). Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 26, 15-69), collected in the same light-traps, we show the existence of two distinct morphotypes distinguished by male parameres. These sympatric forms were observed in the Alto Beni, Subandean region of Bolivia, and in the North Beni, Amazonian region of Bolivia, two areas separated by large, sparsely forested, "llanos". Univariate morphometric comparisons between these two forms showed non-overlapping variation of size for external structures of the genitalia (lateral lobe, style and coxite), allowing separation of them on the basis of a single measurement. Multivariate discriminant analysis of head and wing dimensions-excluding genitalia structures-grouped the insects according to their morphotype instead of their geographic origins. The two forms also showed different patterns in number and distribution of low mesepisternal setae. The existence of these two separate forms in close sympatry suggests reproductive isolation, hence a speciation process.     

Micronucleus test in mussels Perna perna fed with the toxic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum lima

Micronucleus (MN) and other nuclear abnormalities have been measured in the hemocytes of mussels Perna perna to verify whether feeding mussels with different concentrations of Prorocentrum lima results in accumulation of levels of okadaic acid (OA) capable of inducing genotoxic effects at the chromosome level, as evidenced by micronuclei and nuclear abnormalities. Four groups of 12 mussels housed individually in aquaria containing filtered seawater were fed with different concentrations of P. lima. Another group collected directly from the production area served as outdoor control. A significantly higher frequency of MN and nuclear lesions was observed in hemocytes from the groups fed P. lima.     

Degradation of DL-PLA-methadone microspheres during in vitro release

The in vitro degradation of polylactic acid of different weight average molecular weight (M_w) in microspheres containing variable amounts of methadone base (between 17 and 47%) was studied using the degradation index (DI), polidispersivity (pd) and molecular weights distribution. Both pd and DI are independent of initial methadone content and increase with M_w polymer, showing values of DI around 6.6 for the high M_w and 2.9 for the lower M_w. The distribution functions in the number of the molecular weights during the degradation assays indicate the presence of different break mechanisms for high and low molecular weight chains. A semiempiric model is proposed to explain the evolution of M_n during degradation in function of the number of bonds available for their breaking and hydrolysis rate constant. The first parameter ranges between 2.35 and 6.65 in function of M_w; the hydrolysis rate constant is independent of M_w and equal to 0.020 h⁻¹ (SD = 0.011 h⁻¹).     

Reduced Risk of Bone Metastasis for Patients With Breast Cancer Who Use COX-2 Inhibitors

PurposeWe hypothesize that the use of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors in early disease phases could protect against the development of bony metastases.Patients and MethodsThe medical charts of patients with stage II-III breast cancer diagnosed between 1999 and 2005 were reviewed. Patients were subdivided according to the use of COX-2 inhibitors after the diagnosis and for ≥ 6 months. Bivariate analyses were undertaken, and statistically significant variables were included in a multivariate logistic regression model.ResultsEleven percent of patients (74 of 644) who did not use COX-2 inhibitors developed bone metastases compared with 2% (1 of 48) of those who did use COX-2 inhibitors (Fisher exact test, P = .05). Significant predictors for bone metastases in a multivariate logistic regression model included: ≥ 3 positive nodes (odds ratio [OR], 3.26 [95% CI, 1.79-5.93]; P < .001), stage IIB-IIIC disease (OR, 3.89 [95% CI: 1.74-8.69]; P = .001) and use of COX-2 inhibitors (OR, 0.12 [95% CI, 0.02-0.88]; P = .037). Adjusting for TNM stage, of the 327 patients with stages IIB-IIIC disease, 22% (63 of 293) had bone metastases in the non–COX-2 group versus 3% (1 of 34) in the COX-2 inhibitors consumers (Fisher exact test, P = .006). In this high-risk group of patients, the calculated OR associated with COX-2 inhibitors was 0.10 (95% CI, 0.01-0.78).ConclusionThe use of COX-2 inhibitors could reduce the risk of bone metastases in stage II-III breast cancer.