The regulatory effects of mesedin and beditin alpha2-adrenoblockers on the functional activity of the nervous, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems in rats under the hypoxic conditions.

One of the reasons of the development of pathologies causing death is hypoxia. The purposes of this study were (1) to study some physiological and biochemical mechanisms of α2-adrenoblockers, which ensure the tissue resistance increase to hypoxia; (2) to offer new drugs contributing to the increase of tissues' stability towards the hypoxic affection; and (3) to submit new medications to surpass by their anti-hypoxic activity of those already used in modern medicine and have some advantages. The reactivity of postsynaptic vascular α2-adrenoceptors was determined on the damaged spinal cord expressed by the blood pressure increase in response to intravenous administration of azepexole that selectively binds to α2-adrenoceptors. Determination of the systemic hemodynamic values and the vascular resistance to the blood flow was performed by the method with plastic microspheres of marked isotopes. pO2 in the blood and the oxygen-transporting function were determined in a sample of 0.1 ml of blood in 30, 90, and 180 min after the α2-adrenoblockers' injections. It has been found that one of the major hemodynamic effects of mesedin and beditin was an improvement in cardiac output, as well as a prolonged increase in coronary blood flow and vasodilation of the heart vessels. Some anti-hypoxic mechanisms of the studied α2-adrenoblockers are an improvement of blood oxygen-transporting function followed by tissue oxygenation and the increased level of corticosterone and resistance to hypoxia. Revealing the mechanisms of action of the postsynaptic α2-adrenoceptors suggests that mesedin and beditin are potentially effective therapeutic means for many hypoxic conditions.

The nexus between human development and fishing footprint among mediterranean countries.

The last decades have shown that human activities damaged environmental quality and biodiversity. As accepted the need of sustainable development, there should be balance between economic, social and environmental issues in the long term. Ecological footprint is an important indicator that shows how human activities reduce environmental quality among a specific region or country. In addition, human capital is mostly used indicator to estimate economic and environmental development level. In this study, it is aimed to explore the effect of human capital on fishing footprint for 10 Mediterranean Countries during the period 1995-2018. According to empirical evidences, it is concluded that for relatively low human capital level, human capital has negative effect on sustainability and in the relatively high level, it has positive effect on sustainability.

A STIRPAT-based investigation on the role of economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption in shaping a sustainable environment in the Mediterranean region.

The Mediterranean region is highly vulnerable to undesired consequences of global warming triggered by industrialization, urbanization, and mostly fossil energy consumption. However, the region has also great renewable energy generation potential such as solar and wind, which enables countries in the region to considerably mitigate CO2 emissions, the main driver of global warming. Developing countries around the world have less impact on carbon emissions than the developed Global North. Therefore, developing countries in the Mediterranean region are affected by the carbon burden of the first industrialized and developed European countries. This study investigates the role of economic growth, fossil and renewable energy consumption, and urbanization of developing Mediterranean countries in CO2 emissions by using annual data covering 1995-2016 period. To this end, it follows a STIRPAT model including gross domestic product per capita, urbanization, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption. Considering cross correlation among countries, panel data methodologies are employed to estimate how carbon emissions respond to increase in gross domestic product, urbanization, and disaggregated energy consumption. Empirical results reveal that gross domestic product and fossil energy increase CO2 emissions; urbanization and renewable energy decrease CO2 emissions.

Musculoskeletal syndromes associated with malignancies.

Literature on the association of malignancies with various rheumatic disorders published over the past year is summarized in this review. The possible roles of methotrexate treatment in predisposing to the development of lung cancer and Felty's syndrome in predisposing to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in rheumatoid arthritis patients are discussed. The increased occurrence of monoclonal gammopathies and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in patients with Sjögren's syndrome is reported. The possible increased frequency of malignancies among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), scleroderma, and polymositis-dermatomyositis is revisited; of interest, the overlapping clinical features of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and SLE are presented, as well as the increased occurrence of ovarian cancer in patients (especially older women) with dermatomyositis. The proceedings of the first International Workshop on Hypertrophic Osteoarthropathy, as well as the association of this syndrome with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the childhood years, are presented. Finally, postchemotherapy and post-bacille Calmette-Guérin rheumatism are described.

Use of the "CDC backpack aspirator" for surveillance of Aedes aegypti in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

We constructed a battery-powered backpack aspirator to collect adult Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. This simple, easily constructed aspirator facilitates the indoor collection of this important vector species. The collections made with the aspirator provide useful information about the biology and behavior of Ae. aegypti that can be used in education and vector control programs and in the evaluation of ultra-low volume insecticide spray programs directed against this species. The cost for construction is ca. $150.

The elderly patient: a special case.

The elderly population represents an increasing part of the population, as life expectancy lengthens. As a consequence, rheumatic diseases, especially osteoarthritis, which is highly correlated with age, is increasingly prevalent. NSAIDs, the basic treatment of rheumatic diseases, are thus more and more widely prescribed to elderly patients. These patients must be regarded as a special population because of physiologic changes in absorption, distribution and excretion of drugs due to concomitant treatments of diseases (frequent in the elderly) which may alter metabolism. Specific studies have to be conducted in elderly patients in order to improve the evaluation of the benefit/risk ratio of drugs widely prescribed for this population. This explains why this symposium is devoted to NSAIDs and elderly.

Síndrome compressiva do túnel do carpo: aspectos clínicos e semiológicos; resultados do tratamento cirúrgico

Os autores apresentam uma análise retrospectiva de 30 casos de síndrome do túnel do carpo tratados cirurgicamente com abertura do ligamento transverso do carpo. Enfatizam que o diagnóstico da enfermidade é clínico e que o tratamento cirúrgico é eficaz e inócuo

Efficacy of auranofin as demonstrated by improvement in clinical parameters and decrease in anti-inflammatory usage: a long-term, multicenter study.

An open, noncomparative study at 8 rheumatology centers in Brazil assessed the efficacy and safety of auranofin (AF) when given for up to 24 months. The study enrolled 80 patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis (RA); disease was severe in 20 (25%), moderate in 55 (69%), and mild in 5 (6%). Patients received auranofin, 3 mg twice daily, and varying doses of anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and corticosteroids). Sixty patients (75%) completed the full 24 months of therapy. No patients were withdrawn from therapy because of insufficient therapeutic effect. There was statistically significant improvement (p less than 0.001) in 9 clinical parameters of disease activity, evident as early as 3 months after beginning AF therapy, increasing steadily over 12 months, and remaining at improved levels for another 12 months. Improvements in some parameters were particularly striking. By 24 months, assessment of well-being had increased by 150%, intensity of pain had decreased by 66%, and duration of morning stiffness had decreased by 78%. The average daily dose of anti-inflammatory drugs also decreased over time. The safety profile of AF was similar to that found in comparable trials. Ten patients (12.5%) were withdrawn because of adverse events: 6 for diarrhea (7.5%), 2 for proteinuria (2.5%), and 1 each for pruritus and anemia (1.25%). Adverse events occurred in 24 of 80 patients; some reported more than one adverse event. The most common adverse events were loose stools (20 patients) or diarrhea (11 patients).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Removal of inhibitors of brain Na+, K+-ATPase by hemoperfusion in fulminant hepatic failure.

Serum from patients with fulminant hepatic failure inhibits rat brain Na+, K+-ATPase activity in vitro. The effect of hemoperfusion on the level of inhibition was investigated with both resin and charcoal columns in clinical use. In the patient perfusions, the mean inhibitory activity of serum fell from 34.7 +/- 1.6 (SE) to 20.9 +/- 1.5% compared with pooled control serum when a resin column was used for the first time and from 26.9 +/- 2.2 to 20.4 +/- 1.7% with charcoal hemoperfusion, a statistically significant (p less than 0.01) removal in both groups. Column chromatography on Sephadex G-25 of material eluted from the resin column post-hemoperfusion and of serum ultrafiltrates before and after in vitro adsorption with charcoal showed considerable overlap in the profile of the substances removed, but with some peaks removed by only one adsorbent. Combinations of resin and charcoal in one hemoperfusion should remove a wider range of potentially toxic substances.

Inhibition of partially purified rat brain Na+, K+-dependent ATPase by bile acids, phenolic acids and endotoxin.

Sera from patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) has previously been shown to contain substance(s) which inhibit leucocyte ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux and rat brain Na+, K+-dependent ATPase in vitro. Similar effects in the patients could be an important mechanism in the development of encephalopathy and cerebral oedema. In previous studies, bilirubin, free fatty acids and mercaptans have been shown to inhibit Na+, K+-ATPase in vitro. The present report is concerned with the effects of a number of other potentially toxic substances present in the serum of patients with FHF. Chenodeoxycholic acid, p-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and endotoxin caused 30-45% inhibition of partially purified rat brain Na+, K+-ATPase at concentrations known to occur in the serum of patients with FHF. At low concentrations the inhibitory effects of these substances were additive, but at higher concentrations a maximum level of inhibition was reached. These further substances are likely, therefore, to be of importance in the disturbances of brain function found in FHF.

Inhibition of rat brain Na+,K+-ATPase activity by serum from patients with fulminant hepatic failure.

Among the toxins accumulating in the circulation of patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) are substances which inhibit leucocyte ouabain-sensitive sodium transport. A similar inhibition of brain Na+,K+-ATPase could lead to both coma and cerebral edema found in these patients which are associated with high mortality. In this study, we have investigated the effect of sera from FHF on normal rat brain Na+,K+-ATPase activity in vitro. Serum from patients with FHF significantly decreased the ouabain-sensitive Na+,K+-ATPase activity (13.58 +/- S.D. 2.60 mumoles Pi mg protein-1 hr-1) in the rat brain membrane preparation in vitro as compared to normal serum (20.33 +/- 3.24 mumoles Pi mg protein-1 hr-1, p less than 0.001). A final serum dilution of 1 in 40 was required to abolish the inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase activity. Cerebrospinal fluid obtained at postmortem from FHF patients also contained the inhibitory substances. Serum from patients in coma due to decompensated chronic liver disease inhibited the Na+,K+-ATPase activity (17.25 +/- 1.37 mumoles Pi mg protein-1 hr-1), but this was less marked than with FHF serum. Hence, the inhibition of brain Na+,K+-ATPase by substances accumulating in the serum in FHF may be important in the pathogenesis of hepatic coma.

Osteoporose idiopatica juvenil. Apresentacao de dois casos. / Juvenile idiopathic osteoporosis. Report of 2 cases

A osteoporose idiopatica juvenil e uma forma rara de osteoporose que tem inicio, geralmente, entre os 8 e 14 anos de idade, evoluindo ate a puberdade, epoca em que tende para a cura espontanea, deixando como sequelas as complicacoes que tenham ocorrido durante seu desenvolvimento. Nao ha tratamento especifico. E uma entidade que deve merecer a atencao de reumatologistas e pediatras, apesar de sua insignificante frequencia, pois, alem de entrar no diagnostico diferencial de inumeras doencas (sindrome de Cushing, leucoses agudas, anemia falciforme, talassemia, osteogenese imperfeita, raquitismo, etc.), pode ser erroneamente interpretada como doenca do grupo propriamente reumatico, como aconteceu com os nossos dois pacientes aqui descritos, um tendo sido diagnosticado como febre reumatica e outro como artrite reumatoide juvenil

Hiperuricemia como causa de dor nas artroses. / Hyperuricemia as a cause of pain in arthrosis

Estudando a uricemia em 1.275 pacientes com diferentes formas de reumatismo, foi observada correlacao estatisticamente significante entre hiperuricemia e artrose, principalmente no sexo feminino. Baseado neste fato, o autor enuncia a hipotese de que nos artrosicos, com niveis elevados de acido urico, a cartilagem degenerada facilita e condiciona a precipitacao de uratos do liquido sinovial, desencadeando, assim, crise dolorosa atraves de mecanismo semelhante ao da gota. Este trabalho foi primeiramente publicado em 1975(29) e agora republicado, com comentarios, em virtude da publicacao do artigo de Simkim e cols.(28), que defende ideias semelhantes

Closure of nasal septal perforation with composite flaps.

A procedure for closure of symptomatic nasal septal perforations is described. The procedure combines the advantages of the good vascular supply of a rotation flap with the strength of a composite graft.