Trends and predictions for gastric cancer mortality in Brazil

AIM: To analyze the effect of age-period and birth cohort on gastric cancer mortality, in Brazil and across its five geographic regions, by sex, in the population over 20 years of age, as well as make projections for the period 2010-2029.METHODS: An ecological study is presented herein,which distributed gastric cancer-related deaths in Brazil and its geographic regions. The effects of ageperiod and birth cohort were calculated by the Poisson regression model and projections were made with the age-period-cohort model in the statistical program R. RESULTS: Progressive reduction of mortality rates was observed in the 1980's, and then higher and lower mortality rates were verified in the 2000's, for both sexes, in Brazil and for the South, Southeast and Midwest regions. A progressive decrease in mortality rates was observed for the Northeast(both sexes) and North(men only) regions within the period 1995-1999, followed by rising rates. CONCLUSION: Regional differences were demonstrated in the mortality rates for gastric cancer in Brazil, and the least developed regions of the country will present increases in projected mortality rates.     

Carnosine treatment during human semen processing by discontinuous density gradient

The aim of this article was to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of carnosine added during human semen processing. Semen samples from 34 patients were submitted to processing by discontinuous density gradient centrifugation without (control) or with different concentrations of carnosine supplementation as follows: (a) 20 mM of carnosine supplementation on the layers of Percoll; and (b) 50 mM carnosine supplementation. Sperm samples were then washed with human tubal fluid medium and evaluated according to sperm kinetics and functional assessment. For statistical analysis, data were evaluated by a general linear model or a Friedman test, whenever appropriate. The 50 mM carnosine supplementation led to improved sperm mitochondrial activity when compared to untreated samples. Motility variables, such as percentage of motile and progressively motile spermatozoa, average path velocity, straight line velocity, curvilinear velocity and linearity, showed an improvement after semen processing irrespective of carnosine supplementation. Both concentrations of carnosine increased the beat-cross frequency (BCF) when compared to samples before processing. We conclude that carnosine supplementation in semen samples benefits sperm mitochondrial activity and BCF.     

New application of the autotrans: autologous support of the organ donor and salvage of the donor's red blood cells for the transfusion support of organ recipients

Organ donation is usually limited to solid tissues; paradoxically, organ donors undergoing explant are often transfused in preparation for or during surgery. This practice increases the requirement for blood and adds immunological and infectious risks for both recipients and donors of grafts. We have investigated the possibility of supporting an explant with intraoperative blood salvage and, in the case of a cadaver donor, at the end of the operation, salvaging blood for potential use in the graft recipient. This preliminary report describes the technique and the results obtained in two procedures. The volume of red cells with a hematocrit of 55% obtained from the two donors was 2,090 and 1,180 ml, respectively. These components were employed for the transfusion support of the organ recipients.     

Conformational changes of peroxidase and albumin in solutions of propylthiouracil

Conformational changes of peroxidase and albumin in buffered solutions of propylthiouracil, an antithyroid drug, were evaluated by dialtometry and viscometry, showing that the structural alteration of peroxidase is related to the decoupling of the reactions which it catalyses. Thus, propylthiouracil probably inactivates the peroxidase by altering its structure. Equilibrium dialysis showed that albumin is the principle propylthiouracil-transporting protein in human serum. Propylthiouracil induces a conformational change in albumin when 1 mole of drug per mole of protein is bound, a structural alteration that can change the binding capability of other ligands.     

Effect of TiO2 Nanoparticles on the Fresh Performance of 3D-Printed Cementitious Materials

3D printing (3DP) of cementitious materials shows several advantages compared to conventional construction methods, but it requires specific fresh-state properties. Nanomaterials have been used in cement-based materials to achieve specific fresh and hardened properties, being potential candidates for 3DP applications. However, there are no reports on using TiO₂ nanoparticles (nano-TiO₂) in 3DP cementitious composites. Thus, the current work aims to assess the effect of nano-TiO₂ on the fresh performance of 3DP cementitious materials. For this purpose, nano-TiO₂ was incorporated in pastes and mortars from 0 to 1.5 wt.%. Time-resolved hydration (in situ XRD) and rheological and printing-related properties (buildability and printability) were evaluated. Results showed that nano-TiO₂ particles enhanced the cement hydration kinetics, leading to further ettringite formation up to 140 min compared to plain cement paste. Rheological measurements showed that the nano-TiO₂ incorporation progressively increased the static and dynamic stress, viscosity, and structuration rate of pastes. Furthermore, nano-TiO₂ improved the buildability of the composites, progressively increasing the maximum number of successive layers printed before failure from 11 (0 wt.% TiO₂) to 64 (1.5 wt.% TiO₂). By contrast, the nano-TiO₂ addition reduced the printability (i.e., the printable period during which the sample was able to be molded by the 3D-printing process) from 140 min (0% TiO₂) to 90 min (1.5% TiO₂). Thus, incorporating “high” nano-TiO₂ contents (e.g., >1 wt.%) was beneficial for buildability but would require a quicker 3DP process. The adoption of nano-TiO₂ contents of around 0.75–1.00% may be an interesting choice since it reduced the printability of paste by 30 min compared with the control mix but allowed for printing 24 layers (118% higher than plain mortar).     

The binding of thioureylene compounds to human serum albumin

The binding interactions of some thioureylene compounds to human serum albumin were studied in vitro by ultraviolet spectroscopy and equilibrium dialysis. Binding of 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil, 6-n-benzyl-2-thiouracil and 2-thiouracil to human serum albumin results in a red shift of the ultraviolet absorption maximum, suggesting that the binding site is a hydrophobic area of the protein. Bindings of 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil and 6-n-benzyl-2-thiouracil to human serum albumin are characterized by two classes of sites while 6-n-propyl-uracil and 2-thiouracil bind to one low-affinity binding site. In addition, an identification of those sites was performed by measuring the displacement of these drugs. The data show that the moderate-affinity site is common with the warfarin site while the low-affinity site is likely to be shared by benzodiazepines. It is concluded that the binding is enhanced by the hydrophobicity of the substituent in the thioureylene compounds, and it is further shown that thiol-group substitutions in the thioureylene ring will weaken the binding.     

The rotavirus disease and the oral human rotavirus vaccination in the Brazilian scenario: an integrative literature review

Due to the epidemiological relevance of rotavirus disease on the worldwide panorama as an important cause of morbid-mortality in the infantile public and to the still incipient production of studies concerning the problematic in the nationwide scenario, not to mention the unique necessity of encouraging the promotion of care and education as inseparable factors in the health spaces, it was delimited as study object of the present article the rotavirus disease in the Brazilian scenario, emphasizing the vaccination as preventive measure against this ill. Thus it is aimed to analyze the publications about rotavirus disease in our country's contexture, stressing the vaccination against the Rotavirus (VORH) as the strategy mentioned. It is a bibliographic research performed on the BDENF, Lilacs, SciELO and Medline databases, in February 2010. During the study the following thematic pillars were discussed: rotavirus characteristics; the rotavirus disease as a public health issue; and the vaccination against rotavirus as primordial action of health care. The study evidenced the epidemiological importance of rotavirus disease in the worldwide scenario and the relevance of vaccination as preventive measure against such problematics.