Background: The passing decision-making performance in volleyball is important because it determines the quality of a team's attack. However, no study has analysed the effect of imagery training on ...passing decision-making performance in young volleyball athletes. Purpose: The objective was to analyse the effect of eight weeks of imagery training on passing decision-making performance. Method: Participants were 33 young male athletes (under 17 years U-17). Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental (EG, n = 17) and control group (CG, n = 16). The CG watched videos of advertisements, while EG participated in the imagery training. A cognitive-general imagery programme was adopted, that asks the athletes to imagine themselves executing passes during a competitive event (e.g. reception of the service with variations of speed and displacement, pass to middle attacker, pass to other attackers, and pass with projection of the body on the ground). The passing decision-making was evaluated in a simulation of a volleyball official game. The analysis of actions was based on the Game Performance Assessment instrument. A heart rate monitor was adopted as an indicator of the autonomic nervous system response during the sessions for the EG and CG. Results: The results revealed a group versus intervention interaction (p < .01) for the passing decision-making, with improvement only in the EG (p = .01). A statistically significant difference in heart rate was identified between the groups (p = .01), with a higher value in the EG. Conclusions: It was concluded that imagery training enhanced passing decision-making performance.
Brazil has one of the world's highest numbers of patients on hemodialysis (HD). Most dialysis centers are private and perform HD for patients with private and public health insurance. We compared ...1-year survival between patients initiating chronic HD with public and private health insurance.
This is an HD register-based retrospective cohort. Adult patients starting HD from January 2011 to December 2021 were included. Survival analysis was stratified according to the period entered in the HD register. Multivariate Cox regression focused on 1-year survival differences between private and public patients.
In the final sample (n = 5114), 68.5% of participants had public and 31.3% to private health insurance, with overall 1-year survival of 92.8% and 89.9%, respectively (p = 0.002). Crude analysis showed a slightly higher survival rate among patients with public health insurance than those with private health insurance (91 vs. 87%, p = 0.030) in the first period (2019-21). However, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) did not remain significantly higher for patients with private health insurance compared to those with public health insurance (HR = 1.07; 95% CI 0.80-1.41; p = 0.651), even after propensity score matching of the groups by several baseline features.
Brazilian chronic HD patients funded by either private health plans or the public system have a similar 1-year mortality risk after controlling for several sociodemographic and clinical parameters.
The growing microbial resistance to antibiotics and the adverse effects of the frequent use of antimicrobials in oral medicine require products as natural therapeutic alternatives. Croton betaceus ...and C. lundianus can be viable for in-depth studies in search of new bioproducts. This study evaluated the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of ethanol extract and leaf fractions of Croton spp. The disk diffusion assay, FRAP and DPPH, were used for antimicrobial and antioxidant analysis, respectively. In addition to phytochemical prospecting and toxicity testing. Secondary metabolites with biological activities were found. Researched extracts and fractions have the potential to inhibit the growth of oral pathogens (Gram-positive, Gram-negative and yeast) in different concentrations. Enterococcus faecalis is the most susceptible to the extract. All fractions showed antioxidant potential. The hexane fraction (BHX and LHX) of both species can inhibit the growth of pathogens in low concentrations, and has a high antioxidant power. The fractions of the extracts of C. betaceus and C. lundianus have important biological activities that can be applied in the development of new antimicrobials for industry and other biotechnological applications.
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•Croton species have relevant biotechnological applications.•First verification of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities in Croton betaceus and C. lundianus.•The fractionation of plant extracts allows the verification of antagonistic compounds.•The polarity of the solvents in the extraction process influences biological activity.•They inhibited gram negative and positive bacteria, and yeast in vitro.
Many natural terpenoid compounds from plants exhibit antinociceptive property but very few studies have addressed their efficacy in visceral models of nociception. The present study evaluated the ...antinociceptive potential of oleanolic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene in the mouse model of colonic nociception induced by mustard oil. We further examined the possible participation of opioid, α2-adrenergic, and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1)-receptors in its mechanism. Mice were pretreated orally with oleanolic acid (3, 10, 30 mg/kg) or vehicle, and the pain-related behavioral responses to intracolonic injection of mustard oil was analysed. Oleanolic acid significantly suppressed the mustard oil-induced nociceptive behaviors at test doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg, in a dose-related manner. The antinociceptive effect of oleanolic acid (30 mg/kg) was significantly blocked by pretreatment with the opioid antagonist, naloxone (2 mg/kg, i.p.), while the α2-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine (2 mg/kg, s.c.), had no effect. Pretreatment with ruthenium red (3 mg/kg, s.c.), a non-competitive TRPV1 antagonist alone caused significant inhibition of mustard oil-induced nociception but its co-administration with oleanolic acid produced neither antagonism nor potentiation of oleanolic acid antinociception. In the open-field test that detects sedative or motor abnormality, mice received 30 mg/kg oleanolic acid did not show any per se influence, but significantly inhibited the mustard oil-induced decrease in ambulation frequency. These data demonstrate the visceral antinociceptive potential of oleanolic acid that involves an opioid mechanism and possibly a modulatory influence on vanilloid-receptors, which needs further study.
Background Amifostine has been widely tested as a cytoprotective agent against a number of aggressors in different organs. Recently, a gastroprotective effect was observed for this drug in a model of ...indomethacin-induced gastric injury. Our objective was to investigate the effect of amifostine on ethanol-induced gastric injury and the role played in this mechanism by afferent sensory neurons, non-protein sulfhydryl groups, nitric oxide, ATP-sensitive potassium channels, and cyclooxygenase-2. Methods Rats were treated with amifostine (22.5, 45, 90, or 180 mg/kg, PO or SC). After 30 min, the rats received absolute ethanol (5 ml kg⁻¹, PO). One hour later, gastric damage was quantified with a planimeter. Samples from the stomach were also taken for histopathological assessment and for assays of non-protein sulfhydryl groups. The other groups were pretreated with L-NAME (10 mg kg⁻¹, IP), glibenclamide (10 mg kg⁻¹, PO), or celecoxib (10 mg kg⁻¹, PO). After 30 min, the animals were given amifostine (90 mg kg⁻¹, PO or SC), followed 30 min later by gavage with absolute ethanol (5 ml kg⁻¹). Other rats were desensitized with capsaicin (125 mg kg⁻¹, SC) 8 days prior to amifostine treatment. Results Amifostine administration PO and SC significantly and dose-dependently reduced ethanol-induced macroscopic and microscopic gastric damage by restoring glutathione levels in the stomach mucosa. Amifostine-promoted gastroprotection against ethanol-induced stomach injury was reversed by pretreatment with neurotoxic doses of capsaicin, but not by L-NAME, glibenclamide, or celecoxib. Conclusions Amifostine protects against ethanol-induced gastric injury by increasing glutathione levels and stimulating the afferent sensory neurons in the stomach.
Growth hormone (GH) and the insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) have cell proliferative and differentiation properties. Whether these hormones have a role in mutagenesis is unknown. Nevertheless, ...severe IGF-I deficiency seems to confer protection against the development of neoplasms. Here, we report five cases of adult patients with severe and congenital isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) due to the c.57+1G>A mutation in the GHRH receptor gene, who developed tumors. Four GH-naïve subjects presented skin tumors: a 42-year-old man with a fibroepithelial polyp, a 53-year-old woman and two men (59 and 56 years old) with epidermoid skin cancers. One of these died from it after three surgeries and radiotherapy. The fifth patient was a 25-year-old woman, who had intermittently received GH replacement therapy (GHRT) from age 11 to 18, who developed an ependymoma extending from the fourth ventricle to the end of the thoracic spine. She underwent three surgical procedures, without obvious evidence of tumor recurrence during the six years follow up. These observations suggest that severe IGHD does not protect completely from development of tumors.
•Three skin cancers in congenital isolated GH deficiency (IGHD)•One skin tag in a subject with IGHD•One giant ependymoma in a subject with IGHD•Congenital IGHD does not entirely protect from tumor development.
Studies have investigated risk factors for infections by specific species of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (CR-GNB), but few considered the group of GNB species and most of them were ...performed in the setting of bacteremia or hospital infection. This study was implemented to identify risk factors for sepsis by CR- and carbapenem-susceptible (CS) GNB in intensive care unit (ICU) patients to improve management strategies for CR-GNB sepsis.
We developed a case-case-control study from a prospective cohort of patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), sepsis-2 or sepsis-3 criteria in which blood and other sample cultures were collected and antimicrobial therapy was instituted, in an adult clinical-surgical ICU, at tertiary public hospital in Rio de Janeiro, from August 2015 through March 2017.
Among the total of 629 ICU admissions followed by 7797 patient-days, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria we identified 184 patients who developed recurrent or single hospital-acquired sepsis. More than 90% of all evaluable cases of sepsis and 87% of control group fulfilled the modified sepsis-3 definition. Non-fermenting bacilli and ventilator-associated pneumonia predominated as etiology and source of CR-GNB sepsis. While Enterobacteriaceae and intra-abdominal surgical site plus urinary-tract infections prevailed in CS-GNB than CR-GNB sepsis. Carbapenemase production was estimated in 76% of CR-GNB isolates. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed previous infection (mostly hospital-acquired bacterial infection or sepsis) (OR = 4.28; 95% CI 1.77-10.35), mechanical ventilation (OR = 4.21; 95% CI 1.17-15.18), carbapenem use (OR = 3.42; 95% CI 1.37-8.52) and length of hospital stay (OR = 1.03; 95% CI 1.01-1.05) as independent risk factors for sepsis by CR-GNB. While ICU readmission (OR = 6.92; 95% CI 1.72-27.78) and nosocomial diarrhea (OR = 5.32; 95% CI 1.07-26.45) were factors associated with CS-GNB sepsis.
The investigation of recurrent and not only bacteremic episodes of sepsis was the differential of this study. The results are in agreement with the basic information in the literature. This may help improve management strategies and future studies on sepsis by CR-GNB.
Abstract Nonunion fractures occur frequently in humans, with profound implications (medical and non-medical). Although there are numerous animal models to study pathogenesis and treatment of nonunion ...fractures, there is apparently the lack of a definitive model for atrophic nonunion fracture. Therefore, the objective was to develop a low-cost rat model of nonunion fracture with a vascular deficit that enabled standardized quantitative analysis of bone growth and regeneration. The model was developed with two surgeries, performed apart. The first involved osteotomy of the femur diaphysis, removal of periosteum and endosteum, isolation of the fracture site using a latex artefact (Penrose drain tube), and reduction of the fracture using an intramedullary pin, whereas the second surgery was to remove the latex artefact. Based on radiographic imaging, micro-CT and histological analyses done 125 days after the fracture was induced, there was clear evidence of atrophic nonunion fracture, without pin migration or specimen loss. Perceived advantages of this model included low cost, ease of reproducibility, lack of specimen loss, and, finally, the potential to assess bone growth and regeneration under poor vascular conditions.
Intestinal mucositis is one of the major troublesome side effects of anticancer chemotherapy leading to poor patient compliance. In this study we addressed the role of the novel apolipoprotein E ...(ApoE) COG 133 mimetic peptide in 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-challenged Swiss mice and IEC-6 cell monolayers. Experiments were also conducted in C57BL6J ApoE knock-out mice to assess the effects of apoE peptide treatment.
Experimental groups were as follows: unchallenged controls, 5-FU-challenged mice (450 mg/kg, i.p) with or without the ApoE peptide (0.3, 1, and 3 μM, given twice daily i.p. for 4 days). Mice were sacrificed 3 days after 5-FU challenge. Proximal small intestinal samples were harvested for molecular biology and histological processing. We conducted ELISA assays and RT-PCR to target IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-10, iNOS, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) to assess intestinal inflammation. Cell death and NF-κB assays were also conducted in apoE knock-out mice. In our in vitro models, IEC-6 cells were exposed to 1 mM of 5-FU in glutamine free media with or without the ApoE peptide (0.02, 0.2, 2, 5, 10, and 20 μM). We investigated IEC-6 cell proliferation and migration, 24 h after the 5-FU challenge. Additionally, apoptotic IEC-6 cells were measured by Tunel and flow cytometry. Equimolar doses of the ApoA-I (D4-F) peptide were also used in some experiments for comparative studies.
Villus blunting and heavy inflammatory infiltrates were seen in the 5-FU-challenged group, findings that were partially ameliorated by the ApoE peptide. We found increased intestinal MPO and pro-inflammatory IL-1β and TNF-α levels, and TNF-α and iNOS transcripts, and reduction of IL-10 following 5-FU treatment, each of which were partially abrogated by the peptide. Improvements were also found in IEC-6 cell apoptosis and migration following ApoE and D-4F treatment.
Altogether, these findings suggest that the novel ApoE COG 133 mimetic peptide can reduce 5-FU-induced intestinal changes and potentially benefit mucositis.
This research evaluates beef burger patties made with meat from animals fed with the addition of 0.0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% lauric acid as a diet supplement. Beef burger patties showed no change ...(p > .05) in most physicochemical characteristics (centesimal composition, cooking loss, water activity, color parameters), lipid oxidation, and fatty acid (FA) concentrations. The pH, C12:0 and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentration of beef burger patties from young bulls fed with 1.5% lauric acid were higher (p < .01) compared animals without lauric acid in diet. Shear force of beef burger patties from young bull meat fed with 1.0 and 1.5% of lauric acid presented lower cut resistance compared with others treatments. The inclusion of up to 1.5% lauric acid improves the CLA concentration and softness of beef burger patties. Supplying lauric acid did not changed centesimal composition, lipid oxidation, or the FA composition of beef burgers patties.
Novelty impact statement
Supplying lauric acid did not changed centesimal composition, lipid oxidation, or the fatty acids composition of the beef burger. Inclusion of up to 1.5% lauric acid in the Nellore steers diet is recommended because improves conjugated linoleic acid content and softness of beef burger from raw meat.
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