Inactive dumps in Santa Catarina's carboniferous area: analysis of risks to the public health and the environment

The existence of inactive dumps considerably increases the so-called "environmental liability"; so much so that the final destination of urban solid residues takes a prominent place on the list of environmental issues of societies(1). In the state of Santa Catarina, it can be said that, currently, the real conditions of the "final destination deposits", or simply the inactive dumps, is officially unknown. This is maybe most evident in the carboniferous area of the state that already suffers from the environmental impact of coal mining. This study attempts to make a survey of the inactive dumps in the carboniferous area of Santa Catarina, analysing the risks they represent to public health and to the environment. The results gathered show that, of the eleven municipal districts in the carboniferous area, nine have inactive dumps. In these nine districts, there are eleven inactive dumps that, according to the this evaluation, represent a large risk to public health and the environment when the parameters analysed are taken into acount.     

The pedagogical practice of nursing teachers and their knowledge

This article has as objectives investigate the faculty knowledge that embase the pedagogical practice of the nursing-professors, glimpsing to understand the meaning of this social practice in what it refers to the process to become a professional professor. The qualitative nature study, with methodological emphasis in verbal story, used as instruments of data collection semi-arranged interviews, and the data analysis starting from the content analysis. Among the results obtained from the analysis, it has proven that the faculty knowledge and the pedagogical practice positively incises for the consolidation of the process to become professional professor in the scope of the faculty in the nursing course at UFPI.     

First report of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis and Leishmania amazonensis infection in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) is characterised by multiple and progressive cutaneous lesions, resistance to chemotherapy and Leishmania-specific T-cell anergy. We report the first autochthonous DCL case and the first human infection with Leishmania amazonensis in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, where only L. braziliensis is considered to be the causative agent of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Leishmania amazonensis was identified by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis and PCR-RFLP. Our case was diagnosed as DCL according to clinical, parasitological, histopathological and immunological criteria. These observations indicate that L. amazonensis is increasing its geographical distribution in Brazil, accounting for unusual clinical presentations in new transmission areas.     

Peripheral neurobiologic mechanisms of antiallodynic effect of warm water immersion therapy on persistent inflammatory pain

Water immersion is widely used in physiotherapy and might relieve pain, probably by activating several distinct somatosensory modalities, including tactile, pressure, and thermal sensations. However, the endogenous mechanisms behind this effect remain poorly understood. This study examined whether warm water immersion therapy (WWIT) produces an antiallodynic effect in a model of localized inflammation and whether peripheral opioid, cannabinoid, and adenosine receptors are involved in this effect. Mice were injected with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA; intraplantar; i.pl.). The withdrawal frequency to mechanical stimuli (von Frey test) was used to determine 1) the effect of WWIT against CFA‐induced allodynia and 2) the effect of i.pl. preadministration of naloxone (a nonselective opioid receptor antagonist; 5 µg/paw), caffeine (a nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist; 150 nmol/paw), 1,3‐dipropyl‐8‐cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX; a selective adenosine A₁ receptor antagonist; 10 nmol/paw), and AM630 (a selective cannabinoid receptor type 2 antagonist; 4 µg/paw) on the antiallodynic effect of WWIT against CFA‐induced allodynia. Moreover, the influence of WWIT on paw inflammatory edema was measured with a digital micrometer. WWIT produced a significant time‐dependent reduction of paw inflammatory allodynia but did not influence paw edema induced by CFA. Naloxone, caffeine, DPCPX, and AM630 injected in the right, but not in the left, hind paw significantly reversed the antiallodynic effect of WWIT. This is the first study to demonstrate the involvement of peripheral receptors in the antiallodynic effect of WWIT in a murine model of persistent inflammatory pain. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.