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Objectives:Physical exercise has an important role in reducing body fat, risk of chronic disease and systemic inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine serum leptin and insulin concentrations and their relationship to the time of physical exercise after injury in men with cervical spinal cord injury (c-SCI).Methods:c-SCI subjects with lesion level in C5-C7 (n=25) were divided into two groups: physically active (PA, n=13; those who practiced physical exercise for at least 3 months, three times per week or more, for a total minimum of 150 min of physical activity per week) and non-physically active (N-PA, n=9). Body composition was assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Blood samples were obtained 12 h after an overnight fast to measure insulin and leptin in serum, and glucose and C-reactive protein (CRP) in plasma, by validated methods.Results:Comparing the PA and N-PA group, the first presented lower: total body mass (−13%), body mass index (−16%), fat mass (kg −39%, FM% −30%), CRP (−23%), serum insulin (−61%), homeostasis model assessment (HOMA, −35%) and serum leptin (−62%; P<0.05). Both serum insulin (r=−0.561; P<0.05) and HOMA (r=−0.591; P<005) were inversely proportional to the time of practice of physical activity after injury.Conclusion:Our results suggest that exercise was able to reduce fat mass and increase insulin sensitivity, decreasing plasma levels of risk factors in c-SCI subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the clinical and therapeutic aspects of vulvodynia. Vulvodynia exists in 16 percent of women aged 18 to 64 who need specialized medical care. It has been observed that the cause of the disorder has not been fully discovered since it is combined with other chronic vulvar disorders with risk complications. A bibliographic review of the pathophysiology and treatment of vulvodynia are encouraged to broaden the understanding on the disorder. Physical therapy is said to be important since it gave positive results in the treatment of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction and improved the symptoms and quality of life of these women.

Pups whose mothers were leptin-treated during the last 3 days of lactation have thyroid dysfunction at adulthood. However, there was no report about leptin treatment in the first days of life or about its action on thyroid function during development. Here, we evaluated the effects of maternal leptin treatment on the first 10 days of lactation upon thyroid function of the off spring at 21, 30, and 180 days old. At birth, lactating Wistar rats were divided into: Leptin (Lep) - leptin-treated (8 μg/100 g of body weight, s.c.) for the first 10 days of lactation and Control (C, saline-treated). Mothers were killed at the end of lactation and their off spring at 21, 30, and 180 days old. Triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyrotropin (TSH), and leptin levels in serum and milk were measured. Liver mitochondrial glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase (mGPD) activity was determined. Significant differences had p < 0.05. At the end of lactation, Lep mothers had higher milk T3 (+ 30 %), while their off spring had higher serum T3 (+ 20 %) and TSH (+ 84 %). At 30 daysold, Lep off spring showed lower TSH ( - 48 %), T3 ( - 20 %), and mGPDm ( - 42 %). At 180 days-old, Lep group presented hyperleptinemia (1.4-fold increase), higher serum T3 (+ 22 %), and lower mGPD activity ( - 57 %). Maternal hyperleptinemia on lactation causes hypothyroidism in the pups at 30 days, which may program for higher serum T3 at adulthood. In conclusion, maternal hyperleptinemia during lactation, that is common in obese mothers, may have an impact in future disease development, such as thyroid dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal protein restriction (PR) during lactation programs a lower body weight, hyperthyroidism, leptin resistance, and over-expression of leptin receptor in the pituitary gland at adulthood. Because leptin regulates energy homeostasis and the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, we evaluated adipocyte morpho logy, the leptin signaling pathway in the HPT axis and the in vitro thyrotropin (TSH) response to leptin in adult progeny in this model. At birth, dams were separated in control diet with 23 % protein or PR diet with 8 % protein. After weaning, off spring received a normal diet. Adult PR off spring showed lower adipocytes area, higher leptin:visceral fat ratio, lower hypothalamic signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), higher pituitary leptin receptor (Ob-R) and lower thyroid janus tyrosine kinase 2 (JAK2) contents. Regarding the in vitro study, 10 -7 M leptin stimulated TSH secretion in C off spring at 30 min, but had no effect in PR offspring. At 120 min, 10 -7 M leptin decreased TSH secretion in C off spring and increased in PR offspring. Maternal nutritional status during lactation programs for adipocyte atrophy, higher relative leptin secretion and changes in the downstream leptin signaling in the HPT axis and the TSH response to leptin, suggesting a role for leptin in the development of the HPT axis and helping to explain thyroid dysfunction and leptin resistance in this programming model. Because leptin stimulates thyroid function, it is unlikely that these alterations were responsible for the increased in serum T4 and T3. Therefore, neonatal PR programs a hyperthyroidism, lower adipogenesis, and impairment of leptin action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal prolactin inhibition at the end of lactation programs for metabolic syndrome and hypothyroidism in adult off spring, which could negatively affect exercise performance. We evaluated the effects of maternal hypoprolactinemia in late lactation on physical performance in adult progeny. Lactating Wistar rats were treated with bromocriptine (BRO, 1 mg per day) or saline on days 19, 20, and 21 of lactation and off spring were followed until 180 days old. Physical performance was recorded in untrained rats at 90 and 180 days by an acute exhaustive swimming test (exercise group-Ex). At day 90, BRO off spring showed higher visceral fat mass, higher plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, lower total antioxidant capacity, higher liver glycogen, lower glycemia, and normal insulinemia. Although thyroid hormones (TH) levels were unchanged, mitochondrial glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (mGPD) activity was lower in muscle and in brown adipose tissue (BAT). At this age, BRO-Ex offspring showed higher exercise capacity, lower blood lactate, higher serum T3, and higher muscle and BAT mGPD activities. At day 180, BRO off spring showed central obesity, hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, and lower EDL ( extensor digitorum longus ) muscle glycogen with unaltered plasma oxidative stress markers. This group showed no alteration of exercise capacity or blood lactate. After exercise, EDL and liver glycogen were lower, while T3 levels, BAT and muscle mGPD activities were normalized. Liver glycogen seem to be related with higher exercise capacity in younger BRO offspring, while the loss of this temporary advantage maybe related to the hypothyroidism and insulin resistance developed with age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A brief review of Brazilian research on drying process in spouted beds shows its relevance and evolution trends. Needs for applying this technique to dry pasty materials are discussed, focusing on a new model approach in order to overcome operational problems with particle agglomeration and with thermal efficiency. Based on this approach, two cases, drying of black liquor in a conical spouted bed of inert polypropylene particles under intermittent operation and drying of egg emulsion in a conical spouted bed of inert glass beads under continuous operation, are presented and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pyloritreatment failure is a growing problem in daily practice.To determine the efficacy of the combination of rabeprazole, levofloxacin and furazolidone as a rescue therapy.Duodenal ulcer patients previously submitted, without success, to at least twoH. pyloritreatment regimens were included. Gastroscopy (urease test, histological examination and culture) and13C-urea breath test were performed. All patients received a combination of rabeprazole 20 mg, levofloxacin 500 mg and furazolidone 200 mg (two tablets) administered in a single dose in the morning for 10 days. Clinical examination and a new13C-urea breath test were performed 90 days after therapy.Twelve patients (eight females and four males), mean age 43 (30–58) years were included. Two patients failed to complete the treatment because of nausea and vomiting. Ten patients completed the study and took all the medications as advised. Culture was obtained in six patients: 100 and 83% of the samples were sensitive to furazolidone and levofloxacin, respectively. Per-protocol and intention-to-treat eradication rates were 100 and 83% (P = 0.019).the combination of rabeprazole, levofloxacin and furazolidone in a single daily dose for 10 days constitutes a highly-effective and low-cost alternative as a third-line therapy in patients infected withH. pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Annonaceae acetogenins (AG) comprise a family of natural chemical modifications of long-chain fatty acids (C35_37) bearing one to several hydroxyls (less often oxo), middle-chain tetrahydrofuran rings, and a γ-lactonized, α/β-unsaturated carboxyl group. Acetogenins’ strong biological activity as larvicides, pesticides, and antitumorals is dependent on these structural variations. The hydroxylation degree is particularly important for these etfects. Seeds, albeit rich in fats (mostly triacylglycerols, [TAG]), are a nonpredatory source of these drugs as compared to other botanical parts such as roots and stems. Conventional lipid extractions lead to quantitative lipid recovery and then the unfavorable natural ratio of TAG:AG in the range >90:<0.1 These extracts thus require, for instance, partitions and extensive sílica gel column chromatographic steps, in order to enrich or purify the AG fraction(s). Great operational difficulties result from the similar polarity and mol. wt. range of TAG and AG when carrying out these purification steps. An alternative fast two-step procedure to obtain polar acetogenin (pAG)-enriched preparations was developed. The extraction procedure for Annona spp. seeds pAG was carried out with acetonitrile (Eβ = 0.65; log P = - 0.33) as a polar organo-solvent, followed by the adsorption of the solvent-free extract on activated charcoal, then washed with hexane and/or chloroform (Eβ = 0.0 and 0.40: log P = 3.5 and 2.0) for most of the contaminating TAG removal, and then with acetone (Eβ = 0.56; log P = - 0.23) to the desorption of an enriched pAG fraction. An alternative procedure for pAG extraction was supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) at moderate thermopressurization conditions (65-82βC; 120-130 atm) using CO2, with 10% acetonitrile as the polarity modifier. The pAG fractions’ bioactivity was evaluated with the brine-shrimp test (BST), and for feed deterrance, growth inhibition, and lethality against the high-impact agricultural pests Anticarsia gemmatalis and Pseudaletia sequax caterpillars feeding on soya or grass leaves sprayed with a 10% alcohol-stabilized emulsion of pAG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase-transition-like behavior in quantum games has been studied in recent years as a strategy to deal with abrupt changes in the expected payoff of quantum players. More precisely, such behavior is investigated in the context of two-qubit quantum games, where entanglement is used as a resource for quantum players or quantum game referees. In this work, we present the first experimental realization of a single-qubit game where phase-transition-like behavior raises as an immediate consequence of quantum coherence, since no entanglement is present in our game. The game was realized by encoding the qubit in the polarization degree of freedom of an intense laser beam. We investigate the optimal gain of the quantum player as well as a discussion and obtaining of critical points that was experimentally observed, where we had an excellent agreement between theoretical predictions and the experimental results. Due to the power of the quantum-classical analogy between quantum states and optical modes, our platform is adequate to simulate the quantum game and our experiment can be efficiently reproduced in a single-photon experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a quantum mechanical version of the Colonel Blotto game, where two players, Blotto and Enemy, collocate their soldiers (resources) sequentially in a finite number of territories. We analyse the representative classical cases of this game as well as the trivial case—which on its turn has no interest at all in the point of view of classical game theory—where, surprisingly, a player that could control a single parameter can win the game even if he/she is greatly outnumbered by his/her opponent. Besides the theoretical study we present an experimental realization of classical game by using linear optics circuits as well as a proposal of an experimental investigation of the quantized game. Finally, in order to check our quantization scheme we also present computer simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJETIVO: Conhecer a freqüência e a duração mediana das práticas de aleitamento materno em crianças de 0-24 meses no município de Ouro Preto, MG. MÉTODOS: Estudo epidemiológico tipo transversal em amostra estratificada de 229 crianças provenientes de 1.800 domicílios, visitados em 1996 e sorteados por conglomerado em três estágios. A freqüência e a duração mediana das práticas foram calculadas mediante tábua de vida. RESULTADOS: A duração mediana da amamentação foi de 198 dias, sendo de 71 dias para a amamentação exclusiva somada à predominante e 17 dias para a amamentação exclusiva. CONCLUSÃO: Embora a maioria das mães amamente seus filhos ao nascer, a introdução de outros alimentos ainda é bastante prematura, fato que justifica a necessidade de intervenções para prevenir o desmame parcial e/ou total precoce.

The aim of this work was to compare the performance of isotope-selective non-dispersive infrared spectrometry (IRIS) for the 13C-urea breath test with the combination of the 14C-urea breath test (14C-UBT), urease test and histologic examination for the diagnosis of H. pylori (HP) infection. Fifty-three duodenal ulcer patients were studied. All patients were submitted to gastroscopy to detect HP by the urease test, histologic examination and 14C-UBT. To be included in the study the results of the 3 tests had to be concordant. Within one month after admission to the study the patients were submitted to IRIS with breath samples collected before and 30 min after the ingestion of 75 mg 13C-urea dissolved in 200 ml of orange juice. The samples were mailed and analyzed 11.5 (4-21) days after collection. Data were analyzed statistically by the chi-square and Mann-Whitney test and by the Spearman correlation coefficient. Twenty-six patients were HP positive and 27 negative. There was 100% agreement between the IRIS results and the HP status determined by the other three methods. Using a cutoff value of delta-over-baseline (DOB) above 4.0 the IRIS showed a mean value of 19.38 (minimum = 4.2, maximum = 41.3, SD = 10.9) for HP-positive patients and a mean value of 0.88 (minimum = 0.10, maximum = 2.5, SD = 0.71) for negative patients. Using a cutoff value corresponding to 0.800% CO2/weight (kg), the 14C-UBT showed a mean value of 2.78 (minimum = 0.89, maximum = 5.22, SD = 1.18) in HP-positive patients. HP-negative patients showed a mean value of 0.37 (minimum = 0.13, maximum = 0.77, SD = 0.17). IRIS is a low-cost, easy to manage, highly sensitive and specific test for H. pylori detection. Storing and mailing the samples did not interfere with the performance of the test.

Vargas et al, (BJOG 2018) describe a serious deficiency in the Brazilian public health system. Unfortunately, even worse syphilis-related data can be identified in other regions of Brazil as well as in other countries. In seven Brazilian state capitals - Teresina, Fortaleza, Natal, João Pessoa, Maceió, Aracaju and Porto Alegre - more cases of congenital syphilis in babies than episodes of syphilis in pregnant women have been reported (Boletim Epidemiológico Sífilis, Vol 48, No. 36; 2017). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]