Effect of l-glutamic acid supplementation on performance and nitrogen balance of broilers fed low protein diets.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of protein reduction and supplementation of l-glutamic acid in male broiler diets. A total of 648 chicks of the Cobb 500 strain were distributed in a completely randomized design with six treatments and six replications with eighteen birds per experimental unit. The study comprised pre-starter (1-7 days), starter (8-21 days), growth (22-35 days) and final (36-45 days) phases. The first treatment consisted of a control diet formulated according to the requirements of essential amino acids for each rearing phase. The second and third treatments had crude protein (CP) reduced by 1.8 and 3.6 percentage points (pp) in relation to the control diet respectively. In the fourth treatment, l-glutamic acid was added to provide the same glutamate level as the control diet, and in the last two treatments, the broilers were supplemented with 1 and 2 pp of glutamate above that of the control diet respectively. The reduction in CP decreased the performance of broilers and the supplementation of l-glutamic acid did not influence performance when supplied in the diets with excess of glutamate. The lowest excreted nitrogen values were observed in the control diet, and treatments 2 and 3, respectively, in comparison with treatments with the use of l-glutamic acid (5 and 6). Retention efficiency of nitrogen was better in the control diet and in the treatment with a reduction of 1.8 pp of CP. It was verified that the serum uric acid level decreased with the CP reduction. A reduction in CP levels of up to 21.3%, 18.8%, 18.32% and 17.57% is recommended in phases from 1 to 7, 8 to 21, 22 to 35 and at 36 to 42 days, respectively, with a level of glutamate at 5.32%, 4.73%, 4.57%, 4.38%, also in these phases.

Androstane-3ß,5α,6ß,17ß-tetrol tri-hydrate.

The title hydrated tetrol, C(19)H(32)O(4)·3H(2)O, was synthesized by stereoselective reduction of the compound 3ß,5α,6ß-trihy-droxy-androstan-17-one. All rings are fused trans. The organic mol-ecules are connected head-to-tail along the c axis via O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Layers of water mol-ecules in the ab plane inter-connect these chains. A quantum chemical ab initio Roothan Hartree-Fock calculation of the isolated mol-ecule gives values for the mol-ecular geometry close to experimentally determined ones, apart from the C-O bond lengths, whose calculated values are significantly smaller than the measured ones, probably a consequence of the involvement of the C-OH groups in the hydrogen-bonding network.

3ß,5α,6ß-Trihy-droxy-androstan-17-one.

The title compound, C(19)H(30)O(4), is an androstan-17-one derivative synthesized from the dehydro-epiandrosterone through a sequential addition of an oxidant, followed by a trans-diaxial opening of the epoxide generated, with Bi(OTf)(3) (OTf is trifluoro-methane-sulfonate). The six-membered rings have a slightly flattened chair conformation, while the five-membered ring adopts a 14-α envelope conformation. All rings are trans fused. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are connected by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, forming a three-dimensional network. A quantum mechanical ab initio Roothan Hartree-Fock calculation of the free mol-ecule gives bond lengths, valency angles and ring torsion angles of the free molecule at equilibrium geometry (energy minimum) close to the experimental values.

6-[(4-Fluorophenyl)(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]-1,3-benzodioxol-5-ol and 6-[(4-methoxyphenyl)(1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl]-1,3-benzodioxol-5-ol.

The title compounds, C(17)H(13)FN(2)O(3) and C(18)H(16)N(2)O(4), are new potent aromatase inhibitors combining the common features of second- and third-generation nonsteroid anti-aromatase compounds. The molecules have a propeller shape, with dihedral angles between adjacent planes in the range 49-86°. A quantum mechanical ab initio Roothaan-Hartree-Fock calculation for the isolated molecules shows values for these angles close to the ideal value of 90°. Docking studies of the molecules in the aromatase substrate show that their strong inhibitor potency can be attributed to molecular flexibility, hydrophobic interactions, heme Fe coordination and hydrogen bonding.

6beta-Methyl-B-norandrostenedione.

The title compound, C(19)H(26)O(2), a B-norandrogen with a 6beta-methyl group, is a recently identified and experimentally tested potent new aromatase inhibitor. It shares structural and physicochemical similarities both with the natural substrate of the enzyme, androstenedione, and with exemestane, another potent aromatase inhibitor having a 6-methylidene group. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the B-nor molecule and exemestane have nearly the same oxygen-oxygen and methyl-methyl separations, though they have distinct configurations of the hydrophobic groups at the 6-position. These structural comparisons allow correlations to be inferred between the active site geometry of the molecules and the aromatase inhibition power of the studied compound.

Improved preparation of pregn-5-ene-3 beta,16 alpha,20-triols and 5 alpha-pregnane-3 alpha,16 alpha,20-triols.

The compounds named in the title were prepared by routes which included the reduction of suitable 16 alpha,17-epoxypregnan-20-ones with aluminium amalgam to give 16 alpha-hydroxypregnan-20-ones, and reduction of the 20-oxo function either with sodium borohydride to obtain the 3,16 alpha,20 beta-triols or with lithium-liquid ammonia to obtain the 3,16 alpha,20 alpha-triols.

Self-administration with UniJect of the once-a-month injectable contraceptive Cyclofem.

The objective of this study was to evaluate women's acceptance of and ability to self-administrate the injectable contraceptive Cyclofem using prefilled UniJect devices. A total of 102 women were invited to participate in the study. Fourteen women (13.7%) refused to participate. Of the remaining 88 women, 32 women (31.4%) consented to participate and were trained using oranges but were still afraid of the procedure and ultimately refused to self-administer the injections. Only 56 women (55%) ultimately self-injected Cyclofem with UniJect. They performed a total of 144 injections, all of them on the ventral side of the thigh. When nurses evaluated women's ability to activate the devices, they found that more than 80% were successful in both the group of women that later self-administered the injections and the group that did not. The evaluation of the self-administered injection technique showed that more than 90% of the women correctly self-administered the contraceptive using UniJect. With respect to the opinion of the women about the self-administration of the contraceptive, more than 50% (32 of 56) of women who self-injected preferred to self-administer the injection and said that they wished to continue with the self-administration, one-third (17) reported that they were afraid, and seven women (12.5%) expressed the opinion that the injection in the thigh was more painful than the administration in the buttocks or arm. In conclusion, our study showed that women can be trained to successfully self-administer the monthly injectable contraceptive Cyclofem and generally respond positively to UniJect.

PIP: Women's capability to self-administer the monthly injectable contraceptive, Cyclofem, through use of prefilled UniJect devices was evaluated in 88 volunteers recruited from three Brazilian health clinics. After training in self-injection in which oranges were used for practice, only 56 of these women (55%) elected to continue with the study. They performed a total of 144 injections on the ventral side of the thigh. When nurses evaluated women's ability to activate the UniJect device, they found more than 80% of women trained in the method and 93% of those who actually performed self-injection used the technique correctly in an angle of 90 degrees. 32 (57.1%) of the 56 women who self-injected indicated they preferred this method and wished to continue to self-inject at home, another 17 (30.4%) reported they liked the method but were afraid to perform it on their own, and seven (12.5%) complained of pain associated with injection in the thigh compared with the buttocks or arm. Self-administration of injectable contraception, a popular method in Latin American countries, has the potential to increase contraceptive coverage as well as reduce costs associated with transportation to a source of contraception. If women are to perform self-injection at home rather than at a clinic, they will require reminders about the dates of reinjection and the importance of aseptic procedures and proper disposal of injecting equipment.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of two new radiolabelled estrogens: [125I](E)-3-methoxy-17alpha-iodovinylestra-1,3,5(10),6-tetraen-17beta-ol and.

The synthesis of two novel radiolabelled estrogen derivatives, [125I](E)-3-methoxy-17alpha-iodovinylestra-1,3,5(10),6-tetraen-17beta-ol (E[125I]IVDE) and [125I](Z)-3-methoxy-17alpha-iodovinylestra-1,3,5(10),6-tetraen-17beta-ol (Z[125I]IVDE), was carried out aiming to study the influence of the introduction of a C6-C7 double bond on the biological properties of the estradiol molecule. 3-Methoxyestra-1,3,5(10),6-tetraen-17-one was synthesised starting from a suitably protected estrone and subsequently converted into the 17alpha-ethynyl derivative. The radioiodinated derivatives were stereoselectively formed by radioiododestannylation of the corresponding tributylstannyl precursors. The biodistribution of the novel [125I]iodovinylestradiol derivatives was evaluated in immature female mice. Biological data indicated that the Z-isomer, owing to its higher in vivo uptake by the target tissue, has the preferable configuration for further development of similar compounds for estrogen receptor detection.

[The job of the manager of a basic health care unit: practice possibilities]. / O trabalho do gerente em unidade básica de saúde: possibilidades de uma prática.

This article deals with the management of basic health care units, which in the context of municipalization of health, is being placed as strategic to the consolidation of the health care model prescribed by the Integrated Health Care System. It intends to contribute to the process of reflection concerning management, pointing out some possibilities for the manager's work in its administrative, technical and political dimensions.

3 beta,7 alpha,12 alpha-triformyloxy-24-nor-5 beta-chol-22-ene.

The title compound, alternatively called 24-nor-5 beta-chol-22-ene-3 beta,7 alpha,12 alpha-triyl triformate, C(26)H(38)O(6), has a cis junction between two of the six-membered rings. All three of the six-membered rings have chair conformations that are slightly flattened and the five-membered ring has a 13 beta,14 alpha-half-chair conformation. The 3 beta, 7 alpha and 12 alpha ring substituents are axial and the 17 beta group is equatorial. The 3 beta-formyloxy group is involved in one weak intermolecular C-H...O bond, which links the molecules into dimers in a head-to-head fashion.

16alpha,17alpha-Epoxy-20-oxopregn-5-en-3beta-yl acetate.

The title compound, C23H32O4, has a 3beta configuration, with the epoxy O atom at 16alpha,17alpha. Rings A and C have slightly distorted chair conformations. Because of the presence of the C5=C6 double bond, ring B assumes an 8beta,9alpha-half-chair conformation slightly distorted towards an 8beta-sofa. Ring D has a conformation close to a 14alpha-envelope. The acetoxy and acetyl substituents are twisted with respect to the average molecular plane of the steroid. The conformation of the molecule is compared with that given by a quantum chemistry calculation using the RHF-AM1 (RHF = Roothaan Hartree-Fock) Hamiltonian model. Cohesion of the crystal can be attributed to van der Waals interactions and weak intermolecular C-H.O interactions, which link the molecules head-to-tail along [101].