Organ transplants and education: experience of the Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre with subjects.

INTRODUCTION: Today there is an insufficient number of donated organs in Brazil. This is particularly due to the general population's and health care professionals' lack of information. Therefore, with this project we intend to consolidate knowledge on organ donation to teach health care students of different areas so they are able to propagate such knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 2006, at Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, an "Organ donation and transplants" subject was created, with the aim to educate health care students. In the next years, it was split in two subjects, named "Introduction to transplants" and "Donation and transplants." By enrolling, students get theoretical classes and practical experience in out- and inpatient facilities and in surgical environments at the Santa Casa Hospital Complex. Furthermore, they can participate in campaigns at parks, stadiums, and health care fairs that take place at several schools in Porto Alegre. To finish the subjects, students present a conclusion report. RESULTS: Seven years after implementation of the subject, and with more than 400 students enrolled, several accomplishments can be highlighted. For example, the creation of the Organ Transplantation League, the implementation of a day to spread conception of the donation-transplant process (with the elaboration of a Web page on the subject), and the release of a book on the subject written by students and professors. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Health care professionals' education is a central point in donation and transplant process. This is because they become, inevitably, educators, and this brings a long-term consequence, consisting of enhanced logistics skills on brain-death diagnosis and further transfer of information to the population (hopefully reducing denial by families at the time of the donation). We conclude that this is a project to be followed by other medical schools so that, effectively, the number of donors increases and, consequently, the transplantation of organs and tissues as well.

Molecular architecture and electrical properties in evaporated films of cobalt phthalocyanine.

Thin films of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) were deposited onto solid substrates through physical vapor deposition (PVD) by thermal evaporation up to 60 nm thick to determine their molecular architecture and electrical properties. The growth was monitored using UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, revealing a linear increase for absorbance versus thickness. PVD films were found in the crystalline alpha phase and with the CoPc molecules forming ca. 45 degrees in relation to the substrate surface. The film surface was fairly homogeneous at the micro and nanoscales, with the roughness at ca. 3 nm. DC and AC electrical measurements were carried out for devices built with distinct structures. Perpendicular contact was established by depositing 60 nm CoPc PVD films between indium tin oxide (ITO) and Al, forming a sandwich-type structure (ITO/CoPc/Al). The current versus DC voltage curve indicated a Schottky diode behavior with a rectification factor of 4.2. The AC conductivity at low frequencies increased about 2 orders of magnitude (10(-9) to 10(-7) S/m) with increasing DC bias (0 to 5 V) and the dielectric constant at 1 kHz was 3.45. The parallel contact was obtained by depositing 120 nm CoPc PVD film onto interdigitated electrodes, forming an IDE-structured device. The latter presented a DC conductivity of 5.5 x 10(-10) S/m while the AC conductivity varied from 10(-9) to 10(-1) S/m between 1 Hz and 1 MHz, respectively, presenting no dependence on DC bias. As proof-of-principle, the IDE-structured device was applied as gas sensor for trifluoroacetic acid (TFA).

Parâmetros eletrocardiográficos e valores séricos e urinários de sódio e potássio em cäes tratados com furosemida / Seric and urinary values for sodium and potassium and electrocardiography parameters in dogs treated with furosemide

Investigaram-se os valores séricos e urinários de sódio e potássio e suas correlaçöes com a eletrocardiografia em 15 cäes, adultos, machos, sem raça definida, submetidos a doses de 2, 4 e 8mg/kg de peso vivo de furosemida e furosemida associada ao cloreto de potássio, duas vezes ao dia, durante 35 dias. Semanalmente, amostras de urina foram analisadas para determinar as concentraçöes séricas de sódio e potássio com a finalidade de analisar a excreçäo fracionada urinária e a ocorrência de espoliaçäo de potássio. Exames eletrocardiográficos foram realizados nas derivaçöes de membro, com a velocidade de 50mm/segundo e calibraçäo 1mV igual a 1cm. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram a reduçäo da concentraçäo sérica de sódio e potássio, o aumento da excreçäo fracionada de potássio no período compreendido entre os dias 7 e 21 dos tratamentos, a diminuiçäo da freqüência cardíaca e os aumentos dos intervalos PIL, QRS e QT no eletrocardiograma. Em síntese, as doses de 2mg de furosemida em associaçäo com cloreto de potássio foram as que apresentaram menores efeitos colaterais, durante o experimento

Rotavirus infection in wild marsupials (Didelphis marsupialis) of the Amazon region.

Rotavirus was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in faecal specimens collected from two (1.35%) of 148 marsupials trapped in the Amazon jungle environment. The positive samples were both from the "common opossum", Didelphis marsupialis. No infections were found in the stools of 198 animals belonging to other mammalian species: the latter included small rodents, chiropterans and primates. Electron microscopic examination of one (MA 5928) rotavirus-positive specimen showed a large number of empty particles. However, both rotavirus strains grew when inoculated in MA 104 cells (foetal Rhesus monkey kidney cells) producing clear cytopathogenic effect; indirect immunofluorescence technique of these cells showed a typical granular cytoplasmic fluorescence. The electrophoretic profile of strain MA 5928 showed a high grade of homology with that of SA 11, but also showed minor differences.

Separacao de imunoglobulinas da classe IgM por cromatografia de coluna com Bio-Gel A-5m. Valor do seu emprego no diagnostico da toxoplasmose pelo teste da imunofluorescencia indireta. / Separation of immunoglobulins IgM by column chromatography using Bio-Gel A-5m. Value for the serologic diagnosis of toxoplasmosis by indirect immunofluorescence

Em 53 soros de individuos com suspeita clinica do toxoplasmose adquirida, apresentando anticorpos IgG-anti-Toxoplasma gondii (IgG-aTg), detectados pelo teste da imunofluorescencia indireta (IFI), em titulos iguais ou maiores que 1:16, realizou-se tambem por IFI a pesquisa de IgM-anti-Toxoplasma gondii (IgM-aTg) no soro total e na fracao (eluato) obtida por separacao atraves de cromatografia de coluna em que se utilizou o Bio-gel A-5m (200 a 400 mesh).Demonstrou-se a presenca de IgM-aTg, em titulos iguais ou superiores a 1: 8, no soro total, em 13 (24,5%) e, no eluato, em 50 (94,3%) dos 53 casos estudados. Em nenhum dos 167 soros de individuos adultos sem suspeita clinica de toxoplasmose - em 103 (61,7%) dos quais a IgG-aTg era positiva - foi demonstrada a presenca de IgM-aTg, quer no soro total, quer no eluato