Evolution of mammographic image quality in the state of Rio de Janeiro / A evolução da qualidade da imagem em mamografia no Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Objective: To evaluate the evolution of mammographic image quality in the state of Rio de Janeiro on the basis of parameters measured and analyzed during health surveillance inspections in the period from 2006 to 2011. Materials and Methods: Descriptive study analyzing parameters connected with imaging quality of 52 mammography apparatuses inspected at least twice with a one-year interval. Results: Amongst the 16 analyzed parameters, 7 presented more than 70% of conformity, namely: compression paddle pressure intensity (85.1%), films development (72.7%), film response (72.7%), low contrast fine detail (92.2%), tumor mass visualization (76.5%), absence of image artifacts (94.1%), mammography-specific developers availability (88.2%). On the other hand, relevant parameters were below 50% conformity, namely: monthly image quality control testing (28.8%) and high contrast details with respect to microcalcifications visualization (47.1%). Conclusion: The analysis revealed critical situations in terms of compliance with the health surveillance standards. Priority should be given to those mammography apparatuses that remained non-compliant at the second inspection performed within the one-year interval. .

Objetivo: Avaliar a evolução da qualidade da imagem de mamógrafos localizados no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, de 2006 a 2011, com base em parâmetros medidos e observados durante inspeções sanitárias. Materiais e Métodos: Estudo descritivo sobre a evolução de parâmetros que condicionam a qualidade da imagem focalizou 52 mamógrafos, inspecionados no mínimo duas vezes, com intervalo de um ano. Resultados: Dos 16 parâmetros avaliados, 7 apresentaram mais de 70% de conformidade: força do dispositivo de compressão (85,1%), processamento dos filmes (72,7%), resposta do filme do serviço (72,7%), detalhes lineares de baixo contraste (92,2%), visualização de massas tumorais (76,5%), ausência de artefatos de imagem (94,1%), existência de processadoras específicas para mamografia (88,2%). Importantes parâmetros apresentaram-se abaixo de 50% de conformidade: realização de testes mensais da qualidade de imagem pelo estabelecimento (28,8%) e detalhes de alto contraste, que dizem respeito à visualização de microcalcificações (47,1%). Conclusão: A análise revelou situações críticas da atuação da vigilância sanitária, cuja prioridade deveria ser dirigida aos estacionários, ou seja, os mamógrafos que permaneceram na situação de não conformidade nas inspeções realizadas com intervalo de um ano. .

Consumption and expenditure on food prepared away from home among Mexican adults in 2006 / Consumo y gasto en alimentos preparados fuera de casa en adultos mexicanos en 2006

Objective. To describe food expenditure and consumption of foods prepared away from home among Mexican adults. Materials and methods. Data were from 45 241 adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006, a nationally-representative, cross-sectional survey of Mexican households. Descriptive statistics and multivariable linear and logistic regression were used to assess the relationship between location of residence, educational attainment, socioeconomic status and the following: 1) expenditure on all food and at restaurants, and 2) frequency of consumption of comida corrida or restaurant food and street food. Results. Food expenditure and consumption of food prepared away from home were positively associated with socioeconomic status, educational attainment, and urban vs. rural residence (p<0.001 for all relationships in bivariate analyses). Conclusions. Consumption of food prepared outside home may be an important part of the diet among urban Mexican adults and those with high socioeconomic status and educational attainment.

Objetivo. Describir los gastos en alimentos y el consumo de alimentos preparados fuera de casa en población mexicana. Material y métodos. Los datos fueron de 45 241 adultos mexicanos en la Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición de 2006, representativa al nivel nacional. Se utilizaron estadísticas descriptivas y regresión linear y logística para estimar la relación entre el lugar de residencia, el nivel educativo y el nivel socioeconómico, con el gasto en todos los alimentos y en restaurantes, y con la frecuencia de consumo de comida corrida, en restaurantes y de la calle. Resultados. El gasto en alimentos y el consumo de alimentos preparados se asociaron positivamente con el nivel socioeconómico, el nivel educativo y la residencia rural (p<0,001 para todas las relaciones). Conclusiones. El consumo de alimentos preparados puede ser una parte importante de la dieta de los adultos urbanos y de aquéllos con altos niveles socioeconómicos y educativos.

Time-Dependent Expression Patterns of Cardiac Aquaporins Following Myocardial Infarction

Aquaporins (AQPs) are expressed in myocardium and the implication of AQPs in myocardial water balance has been suggested. We investigated the expression patterns of AQP subtypes in normal myocardium and their changes in the process of edema formation and cardiac dysfunction following myocardial infarction (MI). Immunostaining demonstrated abundant expression of AQP1, AQP4, and AQP6 in normal mouse heart; AQP1 in blood vessels and cardiac myocytes, AQP4 exclusively on the intercalated discs between cardiac myocytes and AQP6 inside the myocytes. However, neither AQP7 nor AQP9 proteins were expressed in CD1 mouse myocardium. Echocardiography revealed that cardiac function was reduced at 1 week and recovered at 4 weeks after MI, whereas myocardial water content determined by wet-to-dry weight ratio increased at 1 week and rather reduced below the normal at 4 weeks. The expression of cardiac AQPs was up-regulated in MI-induced groups compared with sham-operated control group, but their time-dependent patterns were different. The time course of AQP4 expression coincided with that of myocardial edema and cardiac dysfunction following MI. However, expression of both AQP1 and AQP6 increased persistently up to 4 weeks. Our findings suggest a different role for cardiac AQPs in the formation and reabsorption of myocardial edema after MI.

Myoepithelial expression of Fas and strong nuclear expression of FasL in epithelial cells: A marker for risk stratification of breast cancer.

Aim: The clinical significance of Fas and FasL in hormone-sensitive carcinomas has been reported. Our objective was to evaluate the expression of apoptosis-regulating genes Fas and FasL in Indian breast cancer and fibroadenoma patients in relation to hormone receptor status. Study Design: Retrospective. Materials and Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 63 untreated female patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and 32 female patients with fibroadenoma were studied. Expression of Fas and FasL was evaluated using immunohistochemical staining method. Statistical Analysis: Fisher's exact test and nonparametric correlation test (Spearman rank correlation test) were performed. Result: Fas was detected in 97% of the fibroadenomas and there was a slight decrease in levels of expression with histological grades of IDC. The expression of FasL was detected in 75% fibroadenomas and its expression increased in IDC. There was no correlation between Fas, FasL expression and hormone receptor status. Strong expression of Fas in myoepithelial cells was noted in 12 out of 32 fibroadenoma cases. Conclusion: Expression of Fas and FasL alone is unlikely to be important as a predictive factor as they express in both normal and malignant breast epithelium. But strong expression of Fas in myoepithelial cells along with strong nuclear expression of FasL in epithelial cells of fibroadenoma could be useful as an early predictive factor for onset of malignancy.

[Effects of total extract of urtica dioica on insulin and c-peptide secretion from rat [RIN5F] pancreatic beta cells and glucose utilization by human muscle cells]

The hypoglycemic effects of the Uritca Dioica [UD] extract, used for treatment of diabetes mellitus for many centuries, have been documented in several studies. The present study was designed to determine the possible mechanisms of hypoglycemic effects of UD on human muscle cells and RIN5F rat pancreatic beta cells. In the cell culture laboratory of the Drug Applied Research Center, pancreatic Beta cells and human muscle cells were prepared in multiple flasks containing culture media. Alcoholic extract of UD at concentrations of 50, 100 and 200 micro g/mL were added to muscle cell flasks. The same concentrations of extract plus insulin were added to other muscle cell flasks.Glucose levels were measured in the flasks before and after 60, 120, and 180 minutes after adding of extract. Also the same concentration of UD were added to flask containing RIN5F rat pancreatic beta cells, and insulin and C-peptide level were measured at 0, 60, 120 and 180 minutes. Mean glucose level in the muscle cell media with UD alone and UD plus insulin, at the concentrations and time intervals mentioned, did not change significantly. Insulin levels in pancreatic cells media, before and after applying of UD at different concentrations, and at different times was

Relação entre a síndrome metabólica, teor de gordura intramiocelular e os níveis plasmáticos da adiponectina: papel da rosiglitazona / Relationship between metabolic syndrome intramyocellular lipid content and plasma levels of adiponectin: role of rosiglitazone

Objetivos - A resistência à insulina está associada com o aumento do teor de gordura intramiocelular (GIMC) e com níveis séricos da adiponectina (ADP) diminuídos. A ADP por sua vez está envolvida na oxidação de gordura muscular. Entretanto, a relação entre ambas continua controversa. O objetivo deste estudo é explorar a relação entre a ADP e a GIMC em adultos não diabéticos, além de estudar o papel da rosiglitasona (RSG) sobre a distribuição da gordura entre os compartimentos musculares. Desenho do estudo - Este estudo compreende duas fases: uma fase transversal (corte-transversal) e uma fase longitudinal, de intervenção terapêutica com uma droga, num desenho aberto. Local - Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas e Experimentais em Biologia Vascular (Biovasc) - UERJ. Material e métodos - Na fase transversal, 24 pacientes obesos, não diabéticos, com síndrome metabólica (SM) e 9 controles magros e saudáveis foram estudados. Foi realizada a Espectroscopia de Prótons por Ressonância Nuclear Magnética (1H-ERNM) para quantificar a gordura extramiocelular (GEMC) e a GIMC. Estas, associadas à ADP e aos parâmetros antropométricos e bioquímicos, foram avaliadas e comparadas nos dois grupos. Durante a fase longitudinal, 15 destes pacientes foram reestudados, através da 1H-ERNM, após o tratamento com RSG por 6 meses. Da mesma forma, as variáveis antropométricas e metabólicas foram reavaliadas. Resultados - Fase transversal: os pacientes com SM apresentaram maior índice de massa corporal (IMC), cintura abdominal, relação cintura-quadril (RCQ), e níveis de glicemia, insulina e triglicerídeos e menores níveis de HDL-c, quando comparados com o grupo controle. Da mesma forma o HOMA-RI [3.25 (2.58-4.13) vs 1.02 (0.73-1.29); p<0.0001] e a GIMC [266.1 (189.9-296.3) vs 72.85 (55.3-109.4) unidades arbitrárias-UA, p<0.0001] estavam aumentados enquanto o QUICKI [0.32 (0.31-0.33) vs 0.38 (0.37-0.40); p<0.0001] e a ADP [8.6 (4.05-15.95) vs 21.1 (12.9-24.4) ug/ml; p=0.02) estavam diminuídos...

Study objective - insulin resistance (IR) is associated with intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content and low serum adiponectin (ADP) levels. ADP is also involved in muscle fat oxidation but the relationship between them is still controversial. We aimed to further explore the relationship between ADP and IMCL content in non-diabetic adults and the role of rosiglitazone (RSG) in muscle fat compartment distribution in an adult population of obese non-diabetic metabolic syndrome patients. Design - this study comprises two phases: a cross-sectional and a longitudinal, open-label, drug-interventional one. Setting - Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Research on Vascular Biology (Biovasc) at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. Material and Methods - during the cross-sectional phase, 24 obese, non-diabetic patients with metabolic syndrome (MS) and 9 lean healthy controls were studied. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMRS) was performed to quantify IMCL, as well as extramyocellular lipid (EMCL) content. The latter plus serum ADP, anthropometrics and biochemical parameters were evaluated and compared in these two groups. During the longitudinal phase, fifteen of the MS patients were studied by means of 1H-NMRS before and after treatment with 8mg/day of RSG for 6 months. Anthropometrical and metabolic variables were assessed. Measurements and main results - cross-sectional phase: MS patients had higher body mass index (BMI), waist, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), glucose, insulin and triglycerides and lower HDL-c as compared to controls. HOMA-IR (3.25 [2.58-4.13] vs 1.02 [0.73-1.29]; p<0.0001) and IMCL content (266.1 [189.9-296.3] vs 72.85 [55.3-109.4) AU, p<0.0001] were higher, and QUICKI (0.32 [0.31-0.33] vs 0.38 [0.37-0.40]; p<0.0001) and ADP (8.6 [4.05-15.95] vs 21.1 [12.9-24.4] ug/ml; p=0.02) lower in MS compared to controls. IMCL content was directly associated with glucose, insulin, triglycerides and HOMA-IR and inversely to HDLc, QUICKI...

Níveis de triglicerídeos intra e extracelulares em músculos humanos mediante H-ERM: um estudo de caso / Levels of intra and extra cellular triglycerides in human muscles by means of H-ERM: a case study

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o consumo de triglicerídeos intra (IT) e extracelulares (ET) nos músculos sóleo, tibial anterior e vasto medial após uma prova de quatro horas de ciclismo de estrada. Esta pesquisa caracterizou-se por ser um estudo de caso de um ciclista que participa de competicões internacionais. Os estudos de ressonância magnética utilizaram os seguintes parâmetros espectrais impostos para o ajuste no domínio do tempo, como a distância das freqüências entre os sinais de IT e ET. Os valores de amplitudes dos triglicerídeos intra e extracelulares foram divididos pela ressonância de água. Concluímos que o músculo vasto medial do ciclista apresentou maior consumo de triglicerídeos depois de quatro horas de ciclismo em estrada. Portanto, constatou-se que um trabalho com intensidade de 80 por cento da freqüência cardíaca máxima permitiu consumo de triglicerídeos intramusculares durante o exercício.

Possible link of different slow calcium signals generated by membrane potential and hormones to differential gene expression in cultured muscle cells

We studied the effect of IGF-I, insulin and testosterone on intracellular Ca2+ in cultured muscle cells. Insulin produced a fast (<1 s) and transient [Ca2+] increase lasting less than 10 s. IGF-I induced a transient [Ca2+] increase, reaching a fluorescence peak 6 s after stimulus, to return to basal values after 60 s. Testosterone induced delayed (35 s) and long lasting (100-200 s) signals, frequently associated with oscillations. IGF-I, testosterone and electrical stimulation-induced Ca2+ signals were shown to be dependent on IP3 production. All of these Ca2+ signals were blocked by inhibitors of the IP3 pathway. On the other hand, insulin-induced Ca2+ increase was dependent on ryanodine receptors and blocked by either nifedipine or ryanodine. The different intracellular Ca2+ patterns produced by electrical stimulation, testosterone, IGF-I and insulin, may help to understand the role of intracellular calcium kinetics in the regulation of gene expression by various stimuli in skeletal muscle cells.