Organometallic gold(iii) complexes with hybrid SNS-donating thiosemicarbazone ligands: cytotoxicity and anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity.

Stable organogold(iii) compounds of the composition [AuIII(Hdamp)(L1)]Cl are formed from reactions of [AuCl2(damp)] with H2L1 (damp- = dimethylaminomethylphenyl; H2L1 = N'-(diethylcarbamothioyl)benzimidothiosemicarbazides). The cationic complexes can be neutralized by reactions with weak bases under the formation of [AuIII(damp)(L1)] compounds. The structures of the products show interesting features like relatively short AuH contacts between the methylene protons of the Hdamp ligand and the gold(iii) ions. Preliminary biological studies on the uncoordinated compounds H2L1 and their gold complexes indicate considerable cytotoxicity for the [AuIII(Hdamp)(L1)]Cl complexes against MCF-7 cells. The in vitro trypanocidal activity was evaluated against the intracellular form of Trypanosoma cruzi. The organometallic complexes display a remarkable activity, which is dependent on the alkyl substituents of the thiosemicarbazone building blocks of the ligands. One representative of the cationic [AuIII(Hdamp)(L1)]Cl complexes, where H2L1 contains a dimethylthiosemicarbazide building block, shows a trypanocidal activity against the intracellular amastigote form in the same order of magnitude as that of the standard drug benznidazole. Furthermore, no appreciable toxicity to mice spleen cells is observed for this compound resulting in a therapeutic index of about 30, which strongly recommends it as a promising candidate for the development of a future antiparasitic drug.

The effectiveness of breathing patterns to control maternal anxiety during the first period of labor: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the efficacy of the breathing patterns during the active phase of the first stage of labor for maternal anxiety. DESING: Randomised trial with two treatment arms and intention-to-treat analysis. PARTICIPANTS: One Hundred and forty patient in active labour, age between 12 and 40 years old and gestational age between 37 and 41 weeks. The breathing patterns waere made depending on the dilation phase and intensity of contraction, while the control group received routine care service. RESULTS: There was no difference between groups two hours after the first evaluation regarding to anxiety (MD 0.3 CI95% -4.2 to 4.8), pain (MD 0.0 CI95% -0.8 to 0.7), fatigue (MD -0.5 CI95% -1.4 to 2.5) and maternal satisfaction (MD 0.9 CI95% -0.1 to 2.0). CONCLUSIONS: The study results showed that the use of breathing patterns during the first period of labour were not effective to control anxiety, pain, fatigue and maternal satisfaction.

The human platelet alloantigen profile in blood donors from Amazonas, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Human platelet antigens (HPAs) are alloantigens derived from polymorphisms in platelet-surface glycoproteins. The occurrence of alloantibodies against HPAs can lead to platelet destruction and subsequent thrombocytopenia. Brazilians have a high rate of racial admixture, and the knowledge of HPA polymorphisms in particular donors from north Brazil, who have a large Amerindian influence, is a relevant strategy to prevent alloimmunisation. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was investigate the HPA allele's frequencies in the Amazonas blood donors. METHODS: We performed HPA genotyping among 200 Amazonas blood donors by microarray for 11 HPA biallelic systems, including six of the most clinically significant systems (HPA-1 to -5 and -15) and five others (HPA-6 to -9 and -11) that have been also associated with alloimmunisation, amounting to 22 HPA alleles. RESULTS: The obtained allele frequencies were compared with data of 38 populations worldwide to determine the hierarchical relationship and estimated the probability of mismatch platelets. The allele frequencies were 0·862 for HPA-1a, 0·137 for HPA-1b, 0·852 for HPA-2a, 0·147 for HPA-2b, 0·665 for HPA-3a, 0·335 for HPA-3b, 0·995 for HPA-4a, 0·005 for HPA-4b, 0·892 for HPA-5a, 0·107 for HPA-5b, 0·997 for HPA-9a, 0·005 for HPA-9b, 0·502 for HPA-15a and 0·497 for HPA-15b. The incompatibility risks are higher for HPA-15 and HPA-3, followed by HPA-1, -2 and -5. CONCLUSION: We found differences among populations worldwide, and it is interesting to note the indigenous and European influences in this region, reinforcing the heterogeneity in the ancestry of Brazilians. The results will be helpful in providing information for platelet transfusion to avoid alloimmunisation.

Enhanced localization, energy anomalous diffusion and resonant mode in harmonic chains with correlated mass-spring disorder.

In this work, we study the vibrational modes and energy spreading in a harmonic chain model with diluted second-neighbors couplings and correlated mass-spring disorder. While all nearest neighbor masses are coupled by an elastic spring, second neighbors springs are introduced with a probability pD. The masses are randomly distributed according to the site connectivity mi = m0 (1 + 1/n(α)(I), where ni is the connectivity of the site i and α is a tunable exponent. We show that maximum localization of the vibrational modes is achieved for α ≃ 3/4. The time-evolution of the energy wave-packet is followed after an initial localized excitation. While the participation number remains finite, the energy spread is shown to be sub-diffusive after a displacement and super-diffusive after an impulse excitation. These features are related to the development of a power-law tail in the wave-packet distribution. Further, we unveil that the spring dilution leads to the emergence of a resonant localized state which is signaled by a van Hove singularity in the density of states.

First Report of Downy Mildew Caused by Peronospora sordida on Butterflybush (Buddleja stachyoides) in Brazil.

Butterflybush (common name in Brazil, verbasco), Buddleja stachyoides Cham. & Schltdl. (Buddlejaceae), is an erect herb or small shrub, native to Brazil, that is listed both as a folk medicinal plant and as a pasture weed (4). In March 2012, a group of B. stachyoides plants growing in a pasture in Viçosa (state of Minas Gerais, Brazil), were found bearing typical downy mildew symptoms. The only pathogen reported associated with this plant species is Podosphaera xanthii (1) and because there is no record of downy mildew on members of Buddleja in Brazil, an investigation was carried out to clarify the pathogen identity. Diseased plants had lesions on living leaves that were vein-delimited, chlorotic, coalescing, and becoming necrotic adaxially and bearing downy mildew-like colonies over diseased tissues abaxially. The samples were dried in a plant press and a representative specimen was deposited in the local herbarium at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Accession No. VIC 31836). Reproductive structures were scraped from leaves with a scalpel and mounted in lactophenol. Preliminary observations indicated the pathogen as belonging to Peronospora (Peronosporaceae). The pathogen had the following morphology: Sporangiophores are 288 to 641 µm long, dichotomously branching up to seven times, hyaline, smooth, 5 to 16 µm wide at the trunk, branches 63 to 202 µm long; tips subacute, in pairs or rarely single, 5 to 19 µm long; sporangia subglobose to ellipsoidal, 12 to 22 × 11 to 17 µm, pale yellowish brown, non-papillate. Only one species of Peronospora is known to infect members of Buddleja, namely Peronospora hariotii Gäum. (1). Nevertheless, the pathogen on B. stachyoides has smaller sporangia as compared to those of P. hariotii (20 to 26 × 16 to 21 µm) (2) and it was closer to P. sordida (3). DNA of the pathogen from B. stachyoides was extracted and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COX2) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were sequenced. Sequences were deposited in GenBank (COX2 as JX982637; ITS as JX982638). A BLAST search yielded 99% and 100% of maximum identity with P. sordida for COX2 and ITS, respectively. A more detailed phylogenetic study is necessary to clarify the relationship between P. sordida, P. hariotii, and related species causing downy mildew on closely related hosts. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. sordida occurring on a member of the genus Buddleja. This is also the first time that P. sordida is reported from South America. References: (1) D. F. Farr and A. Y. Rossman. Fungal Databases. Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory, ARS, USDA. Retrieved from http://nt.ars-grin.gov/fungaldatabases/ , 19 October 2012. (2) S. M. Francis. C.M.I. Descr. Pathog. Fungi Bact. 767:1, 1983. (3) G. Hall. I.M.I. Descr. Fungi Bact. 1062:1, 1991. (4) K. G. Kissmann and D. Groth. Plantas Infestantes e Nocivas. São Paulo, BASF, 1997.

Bioética Clínica e Direitos Humanos: a interface entre o direito humano à saúde e o consentimento informado / Clinical Bioethics and Human Rights: the interface between human right to health and informed consent

Este artigo tem como objetivo central demonstrar que introduzir o referencial teórico-normativo dos direitos humanos na análise de temáticas referentes à Bioética Clínica pode prover frutíferas contribuições para a proteção do sujeito vulnerável na relação clínica, o paciente, na medida em que os direitos humanos abarcam os ambientes culturais e socais em que os indivíduos se inserem, os quais devem ser considerados na análise bioética de dilemas que emergem da prática clínica. Escolheu-se o consentimento informado como meio de ilustrar a aproximação entre Bioética Clínica e direitos humanos. Concluiu-se que o consentimento informado, à luz dos direitos humanos, impõe o reconhecimento de que as bases de sua efetivação sempre devem se dar de modo não discriminatório e contemplativo das vulnerabilidades do paciente, e da imperiosidade do profissional de saúde considerar a disponibilidade e acessibilidade a bens e serviços sanitários e evitar a exacerbação informativa.(AU)

This paper aims to demonstrate that to introduce the theoretical and normative framework of human rights in the analysis of Clinical Bioethics is relevant to the protection of a vulnerable subject in the clinical relation, the patient. Human rights encompass the cultural and social environments in which individuals are constituted, which should be considered in the analysis of bioethical dilemmas that arise in clinical practice. Informed consent was chosen as a means of illustrating the approximation between Clinical Bioethics and Human Rights. It was concluded that informed consent, in light of human rights, implies the recognition that the basis of its effectiveness should always happen in a non-discriminatory manner and contemplating the patient’s vulnerabilities. Moreover, it is imperious for health professionals to consider the availability and accessibility of goods and services for health and to prevent informative exacerbation.(AU)

Energy transport in a one-dimensional harmonic ternary chain with Ornstein-Uhlenbeck disorder.

In this paper we study a one-dimensional ternary harmonic chain with the mass distribution constructed from an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. We generate a ternary mass disordered distribution by generating the correlated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process and mapping it into a sequence of three different values. The probability of each value is controlled by a fixed parameter b. We analyze the localization aspect of the above model by numerical solution of the Hamilton equations and by the transfer matrix formalism. Our results indicate that the correlated ternary mass distribution does not promote the appearance of new extended modes. In good agreement with previous work, we obtain extended modes for b â†’ ∞; however, we explain in detail the main issue behind this apparent localization- delocalization transition. In addition, we obtain the energy dynamics for this classical chain.

Resonant localized states and quantum percolation on random chains with power-law-diluted long-range couplings.

We investigate the nature of one-electron eigenstates in power-law-diluted chains for which the probability of occurrence of a bond between sites separated by a distance r decays as p(r) = p/r(1+σ). Using an exact diagonalization scheme and a phenomenological finite-size scaling analysis, we determine the quantum percolation transition phase diagram in the full parameter space (p,σ). We show that the density of states displays singularities at some resonance energies associated with degenerate eigenstates localized in a pair of sites with special symmetries. This model is shown to present an intermediate phase for which there is classical percolation but no quantum percolation. Quantum percolation only takes place for σ < 0.78, a value larger than the corresponding one for the Anderson transition in long-ranged coupled chains with random diagonal disorder. The fractality of critical wavefunctions is also characterized.

The intersection between bioethics and human rights in the light of the universal declaration on bioethics and human rights.

This article aims to explore the increasing interconnection between bioethics and human rights that can be observed in recent international norms relating to biomedicine. To this end, the analysis has been focused on the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR) adopted by UNESCO in 2005. Investigating the meanings of the intersection perceived in the UDBHR has led to the understanding of how bioethics and human rights are in accordance, under the normative perspective. Hence, in normative terms, the intersection between bioethics and human rights is clearly undisputable. However, there is no way to affirm that it is consolidated, as UDBHR's adoption is recent and its consolidation, together with its precepts, depends on state and non-state agents. The efficacy of a norm and its content depends on social, cultural and economic conditions, that is, it depends on a series of factors that influence the normative system. In the case of the UDBHR, its effective application and assimilation of its principles are directly linked to the use that bioethical institutions make of them and to how the community of bioethicists will project them in their thoughts and theory production. If, on the one hand UDBHR symbolizes the intersection confirmation--which is of extreme importance for its consolidation--on the other hand its range and consequent stabilization are submitted to the actions from governments, social institutions and bioethicists. Hence, there is still a lot to do in terms of introducing the human rights precepts into bioethics. The aim of this paper is to contribute to this goal. Thus based on the meanings of the intersection between bioethics and human rights identified in the UDBHR, this article presents five ways to understand the connection between these two fields.

A pesquisa biomédica multicêntrica: as obrigações e a responsabilização da indústria farmacêutica em matéria de direitos humanos / Multicenter biomedical research: the obligations and responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry in human rights

Busca-se, no presente artigo, trazer para o campo da Bioética e dos Direitos Humanos a discussão acerca da responsabilização da indústria farmacêutica por violação dos direitos humanos e de suas obrigações correlatas ao direito à saúde no tocante à realização de pesquisa biomédica multicêntrica realizada em países de baixa renda e patrocinada por empresa sediada em país de alta renda. A partir desta perspectiva, este estudo centrou-se na violação do direito humano à saúde decorrente do emprego do placebo em grupo-controle existente medicamento eficaz e do não fornecimento do medicamento pós-pesquisa, quando o fármaco testado foi comprovado eficaz, ou quando, inexistindo tal comprovação, há o medicamento padrão, que deve ser fornecido. Assim, conclui-se que as indústrias farmacêuticas não estão alijadas da cultura dos direitos humanos e do dever erga omnes de respeito às normas de Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos.(AU)

Este artículo tiene como objetivo llevar al campo de la Bioética y los Derechos Humanos la discusión sobre la responsabilidad de la industria de fármacos debido a violaciónes de los derechos humanos y las obligaciones relacionadas con el derecho humano a salud en términos de realización de la investigación biomédica realizada en estudio multicéntrico en países de ingresos bajos y patrocinada por una empresa con sede en país de altos ingresos. Desde esta perspectiva, este estudio se centró en el derecho humano a la salud con relación al uso de placebo en grupo control y a la provisión de la droga después de la investigación, cuando el fármaco fue demostrado eficaz, o cuando, no hay tal evidencia, hay medicamento estándar, lo que debe ser proporcionado. Por lo tanto, se concluye que las compañías farmacéuticas no están fuera de la cultura de los derechos humanos y tiene la obligación erga omnes de respetar las normas del Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos.(AU)

Bioética e direitos humanos: tratamento teórico da interface / Bioethics and human rights: theorist approuch of this interconnection

Esta pesquisa tem como escopo identificar de que modo bioeticistas explicitam a relação entre Bioética e direitos humanos, expondo pontos de contato e distanciamento entre os dois campos. Também, objetiva-se apresentar sinteticamente um panorama das implicações que envolvem a conjugação do referencial dos direitos humanos com a Bioética quando se trata de dilemas morais em saúde pública. Para tanto, verificou-se como a interface entre Bioética e direitos humanos vem sendo estabelecida por bioeticistas que trazem a linguagem dos direitos humanos para sua reflexão teórica. Esse levantamento partiu da análise de trabalhos teóricos de bioeticistas, publicados nos últimos cinco anos, que de alguma forma tocam na problemática - a interface entre Bioética e direitos humanos -, focando-se nos de origem latino-americana, estadunidense e europeia. O exame da literatura bioética atual demonstrou que, em termos teóricos, não se constata a presença de um discurso uníssono sobre a conexão entre a Bioética e os direitos humanos, o que enuncia o processo de construção no qual ainda se encontra a Bioética, assim como a pluralidade de fundamentações éticas que permeia sua produção teórica. Quando se trata de dilemas morais em saúde pública, buscou-se demonstrar que a análise bioética, uma vez escolhido esse parâmetro ético avaliativo para o exame de políticas e práticas sanitárias, pode lançar mão de princípios de direitos humanos, o que se entendeu como recomendável, mormente em razão de tais princípios fundamentarem eticamente a atuação do Estado, o principal responsável pela proteção da saúde da população.

Bioética e direitos humanos: tratamento teórico da interface / Bioethics and human rights: theorist approuch of this interconnection

Esta pesquisa tem como escopo identificar de que modo bioeticistas explicitam a relação entre Bioética e direitos humanos, expondo pontos de contato e distanciamento entre os dois campos. Também, objetiva-se apresentar sinteticamente um panorama das implicações que envolvem a conjugação do referencial dos direitos humanos com a Bioética quando se trata de dilemas morais em saúde pública. Para tanto, verificou-se como a interface entre Bioética e direitos humanos vem sendo estabelecida por bioeticistas que trazem a linguagem dos direitos humanos para sua reflexão teórica. Esse levantamento partiu da análise de trabalhos teóricos de bioeticistas, publicados nos últimos cinco anos, que de alguma forma tocam na problemática - a interface entre Bioética e direitos humanos -, focando-se nos de origem latino-americana, estadunidense e europeia. O exame da literatura bioética atual demonstrou que, em termos teóricos, não se constata a presença de um discurso uníssono sobre a conexão entre a Bioética e os direitos humanos, o que enuncia o processo de construção no qual ainda se encontra a Bioética, assim como a pluralidade de fundamentações éticas que permeia sua produção teórica. Quando se trata de dilemas morais em saúde pública, buscou-se demonstrar que a análise bioética, uma vez escolhido esse parâmetro ético avaliativo para o exame de políticas e práticas sanitárias, pode lançar mão de princípios de direitos humanos, o que se entendeu como recomendável, mormente em razão de tais princípios fundamentarem eticamente a atuação do Estado, o principal responsável pela proteção da saúde da população. (AU)

Interface entre bioética e direitos humanos: perspectiva teórica, institucional e normativa / The interface between bioethics and human rights: theoretical, institutional and normative perspective

Esta tese teve como objetivo central a análise da interface entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos a partir da adoção de dois pressupostos teóricos: a Bioética é um campo do conhecimento que pode ser compreendido de três modos: teórico, institucional e normativo; assim como os Direitos Humanos consistem em exigências éticas positivadas e universais. O exame da interconexão entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos deu-se, inicialmente, na Bioética Teórica, na qual se verificou, após pesquisa bibliográfica, a justificante e o conteúdo teórico da interface, assim como se discorreu sobre os modos teóricos que os estudos sobre Bioética explicitam a relação entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos. Após, mediante o emprego adaptado da abordagem teórico-metodológica para análise de práticas discursivas, investigou-se a interconexão entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos com base na análise dos sentidos extraídos dos documentos elaborados pelas instâncias bioéticas de produção selecionadas: o Comitê Internacional de Bioética da UNESCO e o Departamento de Ética da OMS. Destaca-se, quanto aos passos metodológicos, que houve a construção de categorias de análise, a identificação dessas categorias nos documentos selecionados, o levantamento e análise dos trechos que as continham, e por fim, elaborou-se um mapa de associação de idéias contemplando a análise dos sentidos identificados nos fragmentos apontados, que foram colados de modo a demonstrar o processo metodológico. Quanto à Bioética Normativa, a interface objeto da pesquisa foi estudada à luz da Declaração Universal sobre Bioética e Direitos Humanos, tendo sido analisados os sentidos de seus dispositivos com escopo de esquadrinhar como a relação entre os dois campos - Bioética e Direitos Humanos - se configurou no instrumento normativo. Em conclusão, com base nos sentidos da interface entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos identificados nos documentos produzidos pelas instâncias bioéticas e na Declaração Universal, apresentou-se como contribuição cinco formas de compreensão da conexão entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos: a) os dois campos têm a mesma finalidade de prescrição de condutas sociais; b) a aplicação na Bioética do referencial dos Direitos Humanos se dá por meio do seu emprego na interpretação e complementação de princípios bioéticos, assim como na avaliação de políticas e programas em saúde pública; c) os Direitos Humanos e a Bioética devem balizar necessariamente e em harmonia as práticas referentes à pesquisa envolvendo seres humanos; d) os Direitos Humanos indicam o limite mínimo de proteção a ser adotado pelos princípios bioéticos; e) o referencial dos Direitos Humanos atua como discurso universal para a construção de parâmetros globais em Bioética.

This thesis aimed mainly at examining the interface between Bioethics and Human Rights. Two theoretical assumptions were adopted: the Bioethics is a field of knowledge that can be understood in three ways: theoretical, institutional and normative, as well as human rights consist in positivistic and universal ethical requirements. Examining the interconnection between Bioethics and Human Rights took place initially in Theoretical Bioethics, which was found in bibliography research. Thus, we dealt with justifying the theoretical content and interface, as well as the ways that theoretical studies on Bioethics explicit the relationship between Bioethics and Human Rights. After, through the use of adapted theoretical and methodological approach for the analysis of discursive practices, we investigate the interconnection between Bioethics and Human Rights based on the analysis of the meanings drawn from documents prepared by selected instances of bioethical production: the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO and the WHO's Department of Ethics. Stands out as the methodological steps, which was the construction of categories of analysis, identification of these categories in the selected documents, a survey and analysis of the passages containing them, and finally, a map was drawn up by an association of ideas contemplating analysis of the senses identified in the fragments identified which were bonded in order to demonstrate the methodology. In related to the Normative Bioethics, the interface object of the study was examined under the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, have been analyzed the meanings of their articles with scope of investigating as the relationship between the two fields - bioethics and human rights - was configured within the instrument. In conclusion, based on the directions of the interface between Bioethics and Human Rights identified in the documents produced by bioethics instances and in the DUBDH, we presented as a contribution five ways of understanding the link between Bioethics and Human Rights: a) the two fields have the same purpose of limitation of social behavior, b) the application in Bioethics human rights framework is through the use of it in the interpretation and supplementing of bioethical principles, and evaluation of policies and programs in public health, c) Human Rights and Bioethics should guide necessarily in harmony the practices related to research involving human beings; d) Human Rights indicate the minimum protection to be adopted by the bioethical principles, and) the benchmark of human rights serves as a universal discourse for the construction of a global parameters in Bioethics.

A Declaração Universal sobre Bioética e Direitos Humanos e a análise de sua repercussão teórica na comunidade bioética

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as posições divergentes dos bioeticistas, expressadas na sua produção teórica, quanto à inserção do referencial dos Direitos Humanos na Declaração Universal sobre Bioética e Direitos Humanos, adotada pela UNESCO em 2005. A investigação foi estruturada a partir das críticas encontradas na literatura pesquisada, considerando os artigos científicos publicados entre os anos de 2005 e 2010 sobre o tema Bioética e Direitos Humanos. As críticas foram agrupadas em três blocos: (a) diferenças entre os dois campos: Bioética e Direitos Humanos; (b) Particularismo ético dos Direitos Humanos e falso universalismo da DUBDH; (c) o referencial dos Direitos Humanos como visão moral única da DUBDH e de aceitação reduzida. Em conclusão, viu-se que, teoricamente, há uma ruptura no que concerne à consolidação da interface entre Bioética e Direitos Humanos. Tratando-se especificamente da América Latina, o que se percebe é um endossamento amplo da DUBDH e da sua conexão com os Direitos Humanos. Contudo, sustenta-se que, em termos teóricos, não há como se prescrever que os bioeticistas devam adotar o referencial dos Direitos Humanos, pois a Bioética é um campo do conhecimento plural e condensador de uma série de correntes éticas. Entretanto, é possível, no sentido kunhiano de paradigma disciplinar, que o referencial dos Direitos Humanos se torne o paradigma da Bioética global, mas esse acontecimento seria fruto de dinâmicas intrínsecas da comunidade científica, que independem, em certa medida, de imposições institucionais ou normativas.(AU)

This article aims at analyzing the bioethicists’ contrasting points of view, expressed in their theoretical production, concerning the insertion of the Human Rights into the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights adopted by the UNESCO in 2005. This investigation was based on the criticisms found in the literatura examined, considering the scientific articles on Bioethics and Human Rights published between 2005 and 2010. The criticisms were grouped into three sets: (a) differences between the two fields – Bioethics and Human Rights; (b) the ethical particularities of the Human Rights and the false universalism of the UDBHR; (c) the Human Rights reference as the single moral vision of the UDBHR and this document’s partial acceptance. In sum, it was observed that, theoretically, there is a rupture concerning the consolidation of the interconnection between Bioethics and Human Rights. In Latin America, specifically, what is perceived is a clear support to the UDBHR and to its connection with Human Rights. However, it is pointed out that, in theoretical terms, there is no way of prescribing that the bioethicists must adopt the Human Rights principles, as Bioethics is a field of knowledge that encompasses a series of ethical movements. However, it is possible that the Human Rights reference becomes the global Bioethics paradigm, in the kunhian sense, but this accomplishment would be the result of the scientific community intrinsic dynamics, which depend to a certain extent on institutional or normative impositions.(AU)

The antitumoral, trypanocidal and antileishmanial activities of extract and alkaloids isolated from Duguetia furfuracea.

The alkaloid extract and five alkaloids isolated from subterranean stem bark of Duguetia furfuracea (Annonaceae) were investigated for the following activities: antitumoral, trypanocidal and leishmanicidal. Dicentrinone showed weak cytotoxicity, but it had the strongest leishmanicidal activity (IC(50) 0.01 microM). Duguetine and duguetine beta-N-oxide caused considerable antitumoral activity in every cell lines evaluated, although duguetine was more active against trypomastigote forms (IC(50) 9.32 microM) than other alkaloids tested.

Histopathological changes in the placentas and fetuses of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi isolated from the Myotis nigricans nigricans bat.

Histopathological changes and placental transmission were studied in the late stages of pregnancy in mice infected with a strain of Trypanosoma cruzi, isolated from a Myotis nigricans nigricans bat. Large amastigote nests were observed in uterine muscles, as well as in decidual and endothelial placental cells. In addition, persistent coagulative and fibrotic vascular degeneration was observed. Large amastigote burdens were found in giant cells, spongioblasts and endothelial cells within the labyrinthine layer. Transplacental transmission was confirmed in 30% of the fetuses examined, in which amastigote nests were seen only in striated muscle. During the acute phase, intrauterine development was impaired as the result of parasitic invasion of the placenta, and fetal mortality rose to 10%.

Trypanocidal structure-activity relationship for cis- and trans-methylpluviatolide.

The trypanocidal activity of racemic mixtures of cis- and trans-methylpluviatolides was evaluated in vitro against trypomastigote forms of two strains of Trypanosoma cruzi, and in the enzymatic assay of T. cruzi gGAPDH. The cytotoxicity of the compounds was assessed by the MTT method using LLC-MK2 cells. The effect of the compounds on peroxide and NO production were also investigated. The mixture of the trans stereoisomers displayed trypanocidal activity (IC50 approximately 89.3 microM). Therefore, it was separated by chiral HPLC, furnishing the (+) and (-)-enantiomers. Only the (-)-enantiomer was active against the parasite (IC50 approximately 18.7 microM). Despite being inactive, the (+)-enantiomer acted as an antagonistic competitor. Trans-methylpluviatolide displayed low toxicity for LLC-MK2 cells, with an IC50 of 6.53 mM. Furthermore, methylpluviatolide neither inhibited gGAPDH activity nor hindered peroxide and NO production at the evaluated concentrations.

Prevalence of dental trauma children aged 1-3 years in Joao Pessoa (Brazil).

AIM: This was to determine the prevalence and distribution of traumatic injuries to primary anterior teeth in children from 1 to 3 years-old. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out through clinical examination of the primary dentitions of preschool children enrolled in public nursery schools in Joao Pessoa (Brazil). A total of 293 boys and girls participated in the study. The children were clinically examined for signs of trauma according to Andreasen's classification. RESULTS: Traumatic injuries were identified in 10.2% of children. The largest percentage of injuries was demonstrated by 2-3 years-old, with no significant difference between boys and girls. The most common type of injury was enamel fracture and enamel-dentine fracture. The maxillary central incisor was the most vulnerable to injury, without differences between the right and left side. STATISTICS: The data were entered in the SPSS program, and the chi square test was used with a 5% significance level. CONCLUSION: The primary dentition was most affected by fracture of enamel, especially the maxillary central incisor teeth, in patients between 2 and 3 years of age. There is a need of providing adequate preventive and treatment care for preschool children.