Synergy of the Tropical Earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus and Oil Palm Bagasse in the Removal of Heavy Crude Oil

The tropical endogeic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus, a non-standard species used in ecotoxicity, has been found in crude oil-contaminated habitats. We estimated the removal of total hydrocarbons from heavy crude “Maya” oil on an artificially contaminated soil with a median lethal concentration of P. corethrurus and an addition of oil palm bagasse. P. corethrurus had a high survival rate, and the addition of oil palm bagasse led to a greater growth and an increase in abundance of bacteria and fungi. The activity of P. corethrurus and the nutritional quality of oil palm bagasse had a significant impact on the removal of a larger amount of petroleum hydrocarbons from contaminated soil. We concluded that the endogeic earthworm P. corethrurus and oil palm bagasse acted synergistically to achieve a more effective removal of total petroleum hydrocarbons from soil. These results show the potential for using P. corethrurus to remove, either directly or indirectly, crude oil from soil.

     

Farmacocinética poblacional de cisplatino aplicada a la personalización de su dosificación en pacientes oncológicos

ObjectiveTo develop and internally validate a population pharmacokinetics model for cisplatin and assess its prediction capacity for personalising doses in cancer patients.MethodCisplatin plasma concentrations in forty-six cancer patients were used to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model implemented in NONMEN VI software. Pharmacokinetic parameter identification capacity was assessed using the parametric bootstrap method and the model was validated using the nonparametric bootstrap method and standardised visual and numerical predictive checks. The final model's prediction capacity was evaluated in terms of accuracy and precision during the first (a priori) and second (a posteriori) chemotherapy cycles.ResultsMean population cisplatin clearance is 1.03 L/h with an interpatient variability of 78.0%. Estimated distribution volume at steady state was 48.3 L, with inter- and intrapatient variabilities of 31,3% and 11,7%, respectively. Internal validation confirmed that the population pharmacokinetics model is appropriate to describe changes over time in cisplatin plasma concentrations, as well as its variability in the study population. The accuracy and precision of a posteriori prediction of cisplatin concentrations improved by 21% and 54% compared to a priori prediction.ConclusionThe population pharmacokinetic model developed adequately described the changes in cisplatin plasma concentrations in cancer patients and can be used to optimise cisplatin dosing regimes accurately and precisely.     

The Effectiveness of Lifestyle Interventions to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk in Patients with Severe Mental Disorders: Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies

Patients with severe mental illness have higher prevalences of cardiovascular risk factors (CRF). The objective is to determine whether interventions to modify lifestyles in these patients reduce anthropometric and analytical parameters related to CRF in comparison to routine clinical practice. Systematic review of controlled clinical trials with lifestyle intervention in Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, PsycINFO and CINALH. Change in body mass index, waist circumference, cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar. Meta-analyses were performed using random effects models to estimate the weighted mean difference. Heterogeneity was determined using i² statistical and subgroups analyses. 26 studies were selected. Lifestyle interventions decrease anthropometric and analytical parameters at 3 months follow up. At 6 and 12 months, the differences between the intervention and control groups were maintained, although with less precision. More studies with larger samples and long-term follow-up are needed.     

Farmacocinética poblacional de doxorubicina aplicada a la personalización de su dosificación en pacientes oncológicos

ObjectiveTo develop and internally validate a population pharmacokinetic model for doxorubicin and to evaluate its predictive performance for dose individualization in cancer patients.MethodsDoxorubicin plasma concentrations were determined in thirty-three cancer patients treated with intravenous doxorubicin. A three-compartment pharmacokinetic model was implemented in the NONMEN VI programme to determine the doxorubicin pharmacokinetic parameters. The identifiability of the parameters was assessed by parametric bootstrap and model validation was performed using nonparametric bootstrap, visual predictive check, and numerical predictive check. The final model‘s predictive performance was evaluated in terms of accuracy and precision of plasma concentration predictions during the first and second cycles of chemotherapy.ResultsDoxorubicin clearance was 58.8L/h, with interpatient variability of 29.2% and intrapatient variability of 18.9%. The estimated volume of distribution at steady state was 2294L, with inter-and intrapatient variability of 7.3% and 26.1%, respectively. Internal validation confirmed that the population pharmacokinetic model is appropriate to describe the time course of the doxorubicin plasma concentrations and its variability in this population. The accuracy and precision of an a posteriori prediction of doxorubicin plasma concentrations improved by 63% and 41% compared to the a priori prediction.ConclusionThe Bayesian population pharmacokinetic model characterised the time course of doxorubicine plasma concentrations and can be accurately and precisely used to optimise doxorubicine dosing regimens in cancer patients.     

Paid blood donors: a new risk group for the development of AIDS in Mexico

We analyzed the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of seven patients with AIDS who were infected through contaminated needles or blood letting equipment; no other risk factor was identified in these patients. In the Dirección de Epidemiología de los Servicios Coordinados de la Salud in the state of Puebla, 37 cases of AIDS were registered up to June 15, 1988. Nineteen percent of these were paid donors between the ages of 26 and 45. There were five males and two females. All of them had weight loss, fever, chronic diarrhea and adenomegaly. Six had respiratory complaints, four candidiasis and two pulmonary tuberculosis. In the state of Puebla, there are 517 paid donors registered as carriers of Human Immune Deficiency Virus (HIV). We do not know the number of blood donations and therefore the number of receptors. In this state, 52 percent of AIDS cases are post-transfusional and we fear an increase. We propose that all paid blood donors should be considered as a high risk group.     

Left atrial strain in the assessment of diastolic function: providing new insights into primary myocardial dysfunction in Marfan syndrome

The International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging - Previous studies using conventional echocardiographic measurements have reported subclinical left ventricular (LV) diastolic abnormalities in...     

Trichomonicidal activity of a new anthraquinone isolated from the roots of Morinda panamensis Seem

Trichomoniasis, caused by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, is the most common nonviral sexually transmitted infection worldwide. Although drug treatment is available, unpleasant side effects and increased resistance to the nitroimidazole family have been documented. Hence, there is a need for the identification of new and safe therapeutic agents against T. vaginalis. Antimicrobial activity of anthraquinone compounds has been reported by a number of authors. The genus Morinda is well known for the diversity of anthraquinones with numerous biological activities. A new anthraquinone, lucidin-ω-isopropyl ether, was isolated from the roots of Morinda panamensis Seem. The structure of the compound was determined by ¹H and ¹³C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses, in addition to comparison with literature reports. Using in vitro susceptibility assay, the half inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of lucidin-ω-isopropyl ether for T. vaginalis (1.32 μg/mL) was found similar to that of metronidazole concentration tested (6 μM = 1.03 μg/mL). In addition, this anthraquinone was capable of inhibiting the parasite's ability to kill HeLa cells and decreased proteolytic activity of the proteinase TvMP50 from T. vaginalis. This was associated with the decreased expression of the mp50 gene. These results demonstrate the trichomonicidal potential by lucidin-ω-isopropyl ether. Further action-mode studies are necessary to elucidate the antiparasitic mechanism of this new anthraquinone to develop a more potent antitrichomonal agent.