Historical measures of social context in life course studies: retrospective linkage of addresses to decennial censuses

Background  

There is evidence of a contribution of early life socioeconomic exposures to the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. However, extant studies investigating the impact of the neighborhood social environment on health tend to characterize only the current social environment. This in part may be due to complexities involved in obtaining and geocoding historical addresses. The Life Course Socioeconomic Status, Social Context, and Cardiovascular Disease Study collected information on childhood (1930–1950) and early adulthood (1960–1980) place of residence from 12,681 black and white middle-aged and older men and women from four U.S. communities to link participants with census-based socioeconomic indicators over the life course.     

Prevalence of low visual acuity in public school's students from Brazil

OBJECTIVE: Low visual acuity (VA) is an important public health problem due to its high prevalence and because it needs early diagnosis in order to prevent damage in childhood development and apprenticeship. To describe and analyze low visual acuity (VA) prevalence among school children. METHODS: Once performed the VA test to 1st and 4th grades primary school children data were analyzed by separating students according to sex, school grade, wearing of glasses, residence area and level of access to the supplementary medical assistance (SMA). RESULTS: The total of 9,640 students was evaluated during the year of 2000 and they presented a prevalence of low VA of 13.1% (CI 12.5-13.8%). There was a statistical significant lower prevalence in males (11.5%) compared to females (14.9%) - (PR=0.77). There was a statistical significant higher prevalence in 1st grade students (14.1%) compared to 4th grade (11.5%) - (PR=1.22). There was also a statistical significant lower prevalence for those who were not wearing glasses (12.1%) compared to those who were using glasses (42.0%) - (PR=0.29). Concerning to residence areas, Cajuru neighborhood had the lower prevalence of low VA (1.8%) and Vila Sabia neighborhood had the higher prevalence (32.4%), and a positive correlation, according to residence area, between the proportion of people with access to the Supplementary Medical Assistance and the proportion of children wearing glasses was found (r=0.64, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The low VA high prevalence shows lack in early diagnosis and continuity of assistance pointing out to the urgent need of implementation in visual health public.     

Response of ApoA-IV in pigs to long-term increased dietary oil intake and to the degree of unsaturation of the fatty acids

ApoA-IV is a protein constituent of HDL particles; the gene coding for it is a member of the ApoA-I-ApoC-III-ApoA-IV cluster. To investigate the effects of the quantity and the degree of saturation of dietary lipid on the long-term response of this Apo, and on the hypothetical coordinated regulation of the cluster in vivo, pigs were fed isoenergetic, cholesterol-free, low-lipid or lipid-enriched diets (containing either extra olive oil (rich in MUFA) or sunflower oil (rich in n-6 PUFA)) for 42 d. In animals fed on the control diet, ApoA-IV was mainly associated with plasma lipoproteins. An increase in plasma ApoA-IV concentration, mainly in the lipoprotein-free fraction, was induced by the lipid-enriched diets, independent of the degree of saturation of the fatty acids involved. The latter diets also led to increases in hepatic ApoA-I, ApoA-IV and ApoC-III mRNA levels, more so with the sunflower oil-rich diet. The present results show that porcine plasma ApoA-IV levels and their association with lipoproteins are very sensitive to increases in dietary lipids, independent of the degree of fatty acid saturation. Furthermore, hepatic expression of RNA appears to be coordinated along with that of the other members of the gene cluster.     

Changes in undergraduate education in the health professions from the perspective of comprehensive training

This article discusses the issue of legal, technical, and political legitimacy for formulating a public policy aimed at organizing the training of health professionals in accordance with the population's health needs, while highlighting the competencies of the education and health sectors in this construction. Comprehensiveness is viewed as the main thrust for proposing and supporting the changes needed in the training of professionals in education and health, since it involves an expanded understanding of health, the linkage among multi-professional and interdisciplinary knowledge and practices, and dialogue/exchange with health system users, aimed at innovation of practices in all scenarios of health care and health sector management.     

Work, violence and death in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

In this epidemiological study, deaths resulting from external causes in 1999 and 2000 among males (age 15-64 years) in Campinas, S?o Paulo State were analyzed through interviews with their relatives. We attempted to correlate this incidence with individual occupational history, allowing the characterization of these events as work-related injuries. The proportional death rate due to work-related injuries was estimated at 27% in this group. None of the death certificates we analyzed had "yes" specified in the appropriate work-related injury field. Based on these results, official data from the Brazilian Ministry of Labor on the number of deaths resulting from work-related injuries in this period in the State of S?o Paulo is underestimated by 83.4%. The vast majority of fatal work-related injuries were homicides and traffic accidents, reflecting an increase in violence in this Brazilian city.     

Lung microvascular permeability and neutrophil recruitment are differently regulated by nitric oxide in a rat model of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion

We investigated the effect of two inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, N(w)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) and aminoguanidine, on lung inflammation caused by intestinal ischemia/reperfusion in rats. Relative to the sham-operated rats, intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (ischemia: 45 min; reperfusion: 30 min, 2 and 4 h) induced neutrophil recruitment (increased myeloperoxidase activity) and increased microvascular permeability (Evans blue dye extravasation) in the lungs and increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF) levels in the serum (L-929 cytotoxicity assay). L-NAME given before the ischemia exacerbated neutrophil accumulation, plasma extravasation, serum TNF and caused death of the animals, which was prevented by concomitant injection of L-arginine. Lung and systemic effects of intestinal ischemia/reperfusion were not modified when L-NAME was given just before reperfusion. Treatment with aminoguanidine inhibited plasma extravasation without affecting the other parameters evaluated. Dexamethasone reduced all the parameters. Our results indicate that during intestinal ischemia/reperfusion both constitutive and inducible NO synthases are called to exert a differential modulatory effect on lung inflammation and that maintenance of adequate levels of NO during ischemia is essential for the animals survival.     

The microbiological transformation of two 15beta-hydroxy-ent-kaurene diterpenes by Gibberella fujikuroi

The incubation of 15beta-hydroxy-3-oxo-ent-kaur-16-ene (1) with the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi afforded 11beta-hydroxy-3,15-dioxo-ent-kaurane (6), 11beta,15beta-dihydroxy-3-oxo-ent-kaur-16-ene (8), 7beta,11beta,15beta-trihydroxy-3-oxo-ent-kaur-16-ene (9), 7alpha,11beta-dihydroxy-3,15-dioxo-ent-kaurane (7), and 7alpha,11beta,15beta-trihydroxy-3-oxo-ent-kaur-16-ene (10). The incubation of 15beta-hydroxy-ent-kaur-2,16-diene (3) with the same fungus yielded 7alpha,11beta-dihydroxy-15-oxo-ent-kaur-2-ene (12), 7alpha,11beta,15beta-trihydroxy-ent-kaur-2,16-diene (13), 7beta,15beta-dihydroxy-ent-kaur-2,16-dien-19,6-olide (14), 1beta,7beta,15beta-trihydroxy-ent-kaur-2,16-dien-19-oic acid (15), 7alpha,11beta,16alpha-trihydroxy-15-oxo-ent-kaur-2-ene (17), and 7alpha,15beta,17-trihydroxy-11beta,16beta-epoxy-ent-kaur-2-ene (19). These results indicated that a 3-oxo group in ent-kaur-16-ene derivatives inhibits the oxidation at C-19, typical of the biosynthetic pathway of gibberellins and kaurenolides, while a 2,3-double bond or a 15beta-OH does not. In both substrates a 15beta-alcohol directs hydroxylations at C-11(beta) and C-7(alpha), while in those with a 2,3-double bond the functionalization of C-1(beta) is favored.     

Hypericum androsaemum infusion increases tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced mice hepatotoxicity in vivo

Increasing evidence regarding free radical generating agents indicates that the sustained production of high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause hepatotoxicity. Being a short chain analog of lipid peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) is metabolized into free radical intermediates by cytochrome P450 in hepatocytes, which initiate lipid peroxidation, glutathione depletion and cell damage. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the putative protective effect of Hypericum androsaemum lyophilised infusion against t-BHP-induced mice hepatotoxicity in vivo, which has already been shown to be antioxidant in vitro. However, the results showed that the oral pretreatment with Hypericum androsaemum infusion (4, 20 and 100 mg/kg) for 4 days before a single intraperitoneal dose of t-BHP (1.8 mmol/kg) potentiated the t-BHP-induced hepatotoxicity. In fact, it was observed a potentiation in the depletion of total glutathione and reduced glutathione (GSH) contents and increase in oxidised glutathione (GSSG) level. Also the histopathological evaluation of the mice livers revealed that the infusion raised the incidence of liver lesions induced by t-BHP. These data do not corroborate any effect of Hypericum androsaemum infusion as hepatoprotector, but rather as a potentiator of hepatotoxicity in the present experimental conditions.     

Expression of the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl promotes ocular melanoma cell survival

Metastatic tumor cells originating from cancers of a variety of tissues such as breast, skin, and prostate may remain dormant for long periods of time. In the case of uveal melanoma, the principal malignancy of the eye, complete removal of the primary tumor by enucleation can nonetheless be followed by metastatic tumor growth in distant organs months, years, or even decades later. This suggests that tumor cells have already spread to secondary sites at the time of treatment and remain dormant as micrometastases. Identifying factors that govern long-lived survival of metastatic tumor cells is therefore key to decreasing mortality associated with this and other diseases. While investigating factors differentially expressed in melanoma cells and normal melanocytes, we identified the receptor tyrosine kinase Axl and found up-regulation of Axl in uveal melanomas and melanoma cell lines by RNase protection, Western analysis, and immunohistochemistry. Axl has been shown to mediate cell growth and survival through its ligand Gas6 in non-transformed cells. To test whether stimulation of Axl can enhance survival of uveal melanoma cells, we assessed the degree of mitogenesis and cell survival by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and trypan blue exclusion, respectively, upon stimulation of Mel 290 uveal melanoma cells with Gas6 in vitro. We show that Gas6 mediates mitogenesis and cell survival in Mel 290 cells. We further demonstrate that these effects occur specifically through the Axl receptor by modulating the expression of Axl with an antisense construct. cDNA microarray analysis of 12,687 genes then revealed that Gas6 stimulation of Axl in Mel 290 cells results primarily in the down-regulation of Cyr61, a member of the CCN protein family involved in tumor progression. These data show that the Axl pathway mediates increased survival of uveal melanoma cells, potentially advantageous during cancer dormancy, and that Axl may function in part through regulation of Cyr61.     

Antitumor effect of a novel proapoptotic peptide that impairs the phosphorylation by the protein kinase 2 (casein kinase 2)

Protein Kinase (casein kinase 2, CK2) is a serine-threonine kinase that is frequently dysregulated in many human tumors. Therefore we hypothesized that peptides capable of binding to the CK2 acidic domain may exhibit potential anticancer properties. By screening a random cyclic peptide phage display library, we have identified a novel peptide, P15, that abrogated CK2 phosphorylation by blocking the substrate in vitro. To verify its potential antineoplastic effect, P15 was fused to the cell-penetrating peptide derived from the HIV-Tat protein. Interestingly, P15-Tat induced apoptosis as evidenced by rapid caspase activation and cellular cytotoxicity in a variety of tumor cell lines. Furthermore, direct injection of P15-Tat into C57BL6 mice bearing day 7-established solid tumors, resulted in substantial regression of the tumor mass. Our findings describe a new proapoptotic cyclic peptide that blocks the CK2 phosphorylation and exhibits antitumor effect in vivo, indicating that the P15 peptide may potentially be used clinically to treat solid tumors or as an adjuvant for cancer therapy.