Caracterização sociodemográfica e avaliação da qualidade de vida em mulheres com câncer de mama em tratamento quimioterápico adjuvante / Sociodemographic characterization and evaluation of quality of life in womenwith breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy / Caracterización sociodemográfica y evaluación de la calidad de vida en mujeres con cáncer de mama sometidas a quimioterapia adyuvante

Introdução: A avaliação da qualidade de vida (QV) é importante auxiliar da prática clínica. Objetivo: Avaliar a QVem mulheres com câncer de mama e caracterizá-las quanto aos aspectos sociodemográficos durante o tratamentoquimioterápico adjuvante. Método: Estudo descritivo-exploratório, com abordagem quantitativa. Foram utilizados dois instrumentos: um para a avaliação sociodemográfica e outro para avaliação da QV (EORTC QLQ-C30). A amostra constou de 14 pacientes atendidas em ambulatório de oncologia de um hospital universitário de Minas Gerais, de abril a outubro de 2011. Resultados: A maioria da população estudada possui cor da pele branca (57,1%), é casada (64,3%), havendo predomínio de mulheres com nível fundamental incompleto (35,7%) e médio completo (35,7%). A renda familiar mensal variou de dois a seis salários mínimos (78,6%). Quanto à procedência, 50% são de Uberlândiae 50% de fora dessa cidade. Quanto ao esquema terapêutico, foi predominante a utilização do FAC (50%), seguidodo esquema CMF (28,6%). Ao avaliar isoladamente os domínios função física, emocional e cognitiva, verificou-se piorana QV do início para o final do tratamento. Em relação aos aspectos físicos, todas as mulheres apresentaram piora da QV. Na avaliação qualidade de vida/medida geral de saúde (QV/MGS), foi verificada discreta redução, mesmo com avaliação positiva das pacientes durante todo estudo. Conclusão: O conjunto de resultados mostrou características da amostra semelhantes à de outros estudos, além de evidenciar que, a despeito de todos os benefícios cientificamente comprovados do tratamento quimioterápico adjuvante, observa-se seu impacto negativo sobre a QV, durante todo o período desse tratamento

Impacts of solar ultraviolet-B radiation on terrestrial ecosystems of Tierra del Fuego (southern Argentina). An overview of recent progress.

The southern part of Tierra del Fuego, in the southernmost tip of South America, is covered by dense Nothofagus spp. forests and Sphagnum-dominated peat bogs, which are subjected to the influence of ozone depletion and to increased levels of solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B). Over the last 5 years we have studied some of the biological impacts of solar UV-B on natural ecosystems of this region. We have addressed two general problems: (i) do the fluctuations in UV-B levels under the influence of the Antarctic ozone 'hole' have any measurable biological impact, and (ii) what are the long-term effects of solar (ambient) UV-B on the Tierra del Fuego ecosystems? In this paper, we provide an overview of the progress made during the first 4 years of the project. We highlight and discuss the following results: (1) ambient UV-B has subtle but significant inhibitory effects on the growth of herbaceous and graminoid species of this region (growth reduction < or = 12%), whereas no consistent inhibitory effects could be detected in woody perennials; (2) in the species investigated in greatest detail, Gunnera magellanica, the inhibitory effect of solar UV-B is accompanied by increased levels of DNA damage in leaf tissue, and the DNA damage density in the early spring is clearly correlated with the dose of weighted UV-B measured at ground level; (3) the herbaceous species investigated thus far show little or no acclimation responses to ambient UV-B such as increased sunscreen levels and DNA repair capacity; and (4) ambient UV-B has significant effects on heterotrophic organisms, included marked inhibitory effects on insect herbivory. The results from the experiments summarized in this review clearly indicate that UV-B influences several potentially important processes and ecological interactions in the terrestrial ecosystems of Tierra del Fuego.

Functional significance and induction by solar radiation of ultraviolet-absorbing sunscreens in field-grown soybean crops.

Colorless phenylpropanoid derivatives are known to protect plants from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, but their photoregulation and physiological roles under field conditions have not been investigated in detail. Here we describe a fast method to estimate the degree of UV penetration into photosynthetic tissue, which is based on chlorophyll fluorescence imaging. In Arabidopsis this technique clearly separated the UV-hypersensitive transparent testa (tt) tt5 and tt6 mutants from the wild type (WT) and tt3, tt4, and tt7 mutants. In field-grown soybean (Glycine max), we found significant differences in UV penetration among cultivars with different levels of leaf phenolics, and between plants grown under contrasting levels of solar UV-B. The reduction in UV penetration induced by ambient UV-B had direct implications for DNA integrity in the underlying leaf tissue; thus, the number of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers caused by a short exposure to solar UV-B was much larger in leaves with high UV transmittance than in leaves pretreated with solar UV-B to increase the content phenylpropanoids. Most of the phenylpropanoid response to solar UV in field-grown soybeans was induced by the UV-B component (lambda

Ozone depletion and UVB radiation: impact on plant DNA damage in southern South America.

The primary motivation behind the considerable effort in studying stratospheric ozone depletion is the potential for biological consequences of increased solar UVB (280-315 nm) radiation. Yet, direct links between ozone depletion and biological impacts have been established only for organisms of Antarctic waters under the influence of the ozone "hole;" no direct evidence exists that ozone-related variations in UVB affect ecosystems of temperate latitudes. Indeed, calculations based on laboratory studies with plants suggest that the biological impact of ozone depletion (measured by the formation of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in DNA) is likely to be less marked than previously thought, because UVA quanta (315-400 nm) may also cause significant damage, and UVA is unaffected by ozone depletion. Herein, we show that the temperate ecosystems of southern South America have been subjected to increasingly high levels of ozone depletion during the last decade. We found that in the spring of 1997, despite frequent cloud cover, the passages of the ozone hole over Tierra del Fuego (55 degrees S) caused concomitant increases in solar UV and that the enhanced ground-level UV led to significant increases in DNA damage in the native plant Gunnera magellanica. The fluctuations in solar UV explained a large proportion of the variation in DNA damage (up to 68%), particularly when the solar UV was weighted for biological effectiveness according to action spectra that assume a sharp decline in quantum efficiency with increasing wavelength from the UVB into the UVA regions of the spectrum.

Bronchopulmonary dysgenesis

The experience with the diagnosis and treatment of bronchopulmonary dysgenesis is presented. Twenty-eight patients were evaluated: 8 with congenital lobar emphysema; 9 with bronchial cyst; 4 with adenomatoidcystic malformation; 4 with pulmonary sequestration; 2 patients with arteriovenous malformation; and 1 pulmonary agenesia. Two patients died in the postoperative period (7.6 percent of postoperative mortally). Two were not operated on, and the remainder had a satisfactory outcome following sugery. The complications and the follow-up of the patients are analyzed. Embriologic considerations are made and the diagnostic and surgical methods used are evaluated.

Pseudoaneurismas anastomóticos / Anastomotic pseudoaneurysms

Se analizan 81 falsos aneurismas anastomóticos (FAA) en 58 pacientes operados por afecciones vasculares, en el lapso comprendido entre 1966 y 1995. Observamos 60 casos operados originalmente en nuestro hospital y 21 intervenidos en otros servicios. La incidencia de FAA en nuestro hospital fue del 5,46 por ciento. Sobre 502 aneurismas de aorta abdominal, hubo 15 FAA (2,98 por ciento) y sobre 597 aterosclerosis obliterante operados, tuvieron 66 FAA (11,05 por ciento). En la serie global de 81 FAA, 26 por ciento se localizaron a nivel aórtico y, 74 por ciento, a nivel femoral. Se efectuaron estudios bacteriológicos en un 86,4 por ciento de los casos y, sobre el total de cultivados, hubo un 52,9 por ciento de cultivos positivos. El tratamiento quirúrgico realizado en 79 FAA fue el siguiente: reconstrucción anatomótica a nivel aórtico en 55 por ciento (11/20) y, a nivel femoral, en 86,4 por ciento (51/59). Se utilizó técnica extraanatómica en 5 por ciento (8/20) de los FAA aórticos y en 15,3 por ciento (9/59) de los femorales. El índice de amputaciones mayores fue del 24,7 por ciento. De los 79 FAA operados, hubo un 39,2 por ciento de mortalidad postoperatoria. Cuando se comprende la patogénesis de los FAA, los factores involucrados pueden ser considerados en la primera operación previniendo así esta complicación (AU)

Pseudoaneurismas anastomóticos / Anastomotic pseudoaneurysms

Se analizan 81 falsos aneurismas anastomóticos (FAA) en 58 pacientes operados por afecciones vasculares, en el lapso comprendido entre 1966 y 1995. Observamos 60 casos operados originalmente en nuestro hospital y 21 intervenidos en otros servicios. La incidencia de FAA en nuestro hospital fue del 5,46 por ciento. Sobre 502 aneurismas de aorta abdominal, hubo 15 FAA (2,98 por ciento) y sobre 597 aterosclerosis obliterante operados, tuvieron 66 FAA (11,05 por ciento). En la serie global de 81 FAA, 26 por ciento se localizaron a nivel aórtico y, 74 por ciento, a nivel femoral. Se efectuaron estudios bacteriológicos en un 86,4 por ciento de los casos y, sobre el total de cultivados, hubo un 52,9 por ciento de cultivos positivos. El tratamiento quirúrgico realizado en 79 FAA fue el siguiente: reconstrucción anatomótica a nivel aórtico en 55 por ciento (11/20) y, a nivel femoral, en 86,4 por ciento (51/59). Se utilizó técnica extraanatómica en 5 por ciento (8/20) de los FAA aórticos y en 15,3 por ciento (9/59) de los femorales. El índice de amputaciones mayores fue del 24,7 por ciento. De los 79 FAA operados, hubo un 39,2 por ciento de mortalidad postoperatoria. Cuando se comprende la patogénesis de los FAA, los factores involucrados pueden ser considerados en la primera operación previniendo así esta complicación

Chagas' disease in the Brazilian Amazon. I--A short review.

At least eighteen species of triatominae have been found in the Brazilian Amazon, nine of them naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi or "cruzi-like" trypanosomes and associated with numerous wild reservoirs. Despite the small number of human cases of Chagas' disease described to date in the Brazilian Amazon the risk that the disease will become endemic in this area is increasing for the following reasons: a) uncontrolled deforestation and colonization altering the ecological balance between reservoir hosts and wild vectors; b) the adaptation of reservoir hosts of T. cruzi and wild vectors to peripheral and intradomiciliary areas, as the sole feeding alternative; c) migration of infected human population from endemic areas, accompanied by domestic reservoir hosts (dogs and cats) or accidentally carrying in their baggage vectors already adapted to the domestic habitat. In short, risks that Chagas' disease will become endemic to the Amazon appear to be linked to the transposition of the wild cycle to the domestic cycle in that area or to transfer of the domestic cycle from endemic areas to the Amazon.

Intrathecal synthesis of antibodies to human T lymphotropic virus type I and the presence of IgG oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with endemic tropical spastic paraparesis.

Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), a neuromyelopathy predominantly involving the pyramidal tract and commonly observed in tropical and equatorial areas, was recently found to be associated with human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). We investigated sera and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 19 patients with TSP who were from the Caribbean area, French Guiana, and Africa. Our results showed an elevated intra-blood-brain barrier IgG synthesis rate and an elevated IgG index, with an increased HTLV-I antibody-to-albumin ratio and the presence of CSF oligoclonal bands in the majority of the patients. These data, in association with similar HTLV-I antibody patterns between patients with TSP who were from these three regions, strengthen the probable etiologic role of HTLV-I in the pathogenesis of such chronic neuromyelopathies.