No abstract

Metabolic evaluation of stone-forming (SF) patients is based on the determination of calcium, oxalate, citrate, uric acid and other parameters in 24-h urine samples under a random diet. A reliable measurement of urinary oxalate requires the collection of urine in a receptacle containing acid preservative. However, urinary uric acid cannot be determined in the same sample under this condition. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the addition of preservatives (acid or alkali) after urine collection would not modify the results of those lithogenic parameters. Thirty-four healthy subjects (HS) were submitted to two non-consecutive collections of 24-h urine. The first sample was collected in a receptacle containing hydrochloric acid (HCl 6 N) and the second in a dry plastic container, with HCl being added as soon as the urine sample was received at the laboratory. Additionally, 34 HS and 34 SF patients collected a spot urine sample that was divided into four aliquots, one containing HCl, another containing sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO(3 )5 g/l), and two others in which these two preservative agents were added 24 h later. Urinary oxalate, calcium, magnesium, citrate, creatinine and uric acid were determined. Urinary parameters were also evaluated in the presence of calcium oxalate or uric acid crystals. Mean values of all urinary parameters obtained from previously acidified 24-h urine samples did not differ from those where acid was added after urine collection. The same was true for spot urine samples, with the exception of urinary citrate that presented a slight albeit significant change of 5.9% between samples in HS and 3.1% in SF. Uric acid was also not different between pre- and post-alkalinized spot urine samples. The presence of crystals did not alter these results. We concluded that post-delivery acidification or alkalinization of urine samples does not modify the measured levels of urinary oxalate, calcium, magnesium, creatinine and uric acid, and that the change on citrate was not relevant, hence allowing all parameters to be determined in a single urine sample, thus avoiding the inconvenience and cost of multiple 24-h urine sample collections.

Cardioprotective effect of preconditioning is more efficient than postconditioning in rats submitted to cardiac ischemia and reperfusion 1 AbstractPurpose: To investigate the cardioprotective effects of ischemic preconditioning (preIC) and postconditioning (postIC) in animal model of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion. Methods: Adult rats were submitted to protocol of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and randomized into three experimental groups: cardiac I/R (n=33), preCI + cardiac I/R (n=7) and postCI + cardiac I/R (n=8). After this I/R protocol, the incidence of ventricular arrhythmia (VA), atrioventricular block (AVB) and lethality (LET) was evaluated using the electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis. Results: After reestablishment of coronary blood flow, we observed variations of the ECG trace with increased incidence of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) (85%), atrioventricular block (AVB) (79%), and increase of lethality (70%) in cardiac I/R group. The comparison between I/R + preIC group with I/R group demonstrated significant reduction in VA incidence to 28%, AVB to 0% and lethality to 14%. The comparison of I/R + postIC group with I/R group was observed significance reduction in AVB incidence to 25% and lethality to 25%. Conclusion:The preconditioning strategies produce cardioprotection more efficient that postconditioning against myocardial dysfunctions and lethality by cardiac ischemia and reperfusion.

The objective of this report was to derive a simplified approximate estimate of the ion-activity product of calcium oxalate (AP(CaOx)) in rat urine. The relative effect of each urine variable was assessed by means of iterative computerised approximation with the EQUIL2 program. A basic urine composition was chosen from literature and experimental data. The most pronounced influence on AP(CaOx )was recorded for urinary calcium, oxalate, citrate, magnesium and volume. Based on these calculations, an AP(CaOx) index(RAT) was formulated: [formula; see text]. For a 24-h urine sample, factor A takes the value 4067 and factor F should be set to 0.015. Conclusion. A simplified approximate estimate of AP(CaOx) was derived for rat urine. There was a reasonably good correspondence between AP(CaOx) index(RAT) and AP(CaOx), as derived from EQUIL2 ( r=0.890), provided the other urine variables do not deviate very much from that in the basic composition.

It had been suggested that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) may degrade oxalate in the intestinal lumen, reducing urinary oxalate excretion. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a LAB mixture containing Lactobacillus casei (LC) and Bifidobacterium breve (BB) (LC + BB) upon urinary oxalate reduction in stone-forming (SF) patients without hyperoxaluria under conditions of an oxalate-rich diet. After an oxalate restriction period (7 days washout), 14 SF patients consumed an oxalate-rich diet during 4 weeks (200 mg/day) and a lyophilized LC + BB preparation was given t.i.d. after meals during the last 2 weeks. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected for determination of oxalate, calcium, magnesium, citrate, sodium, potassium and creatinine at baseline, after 2 weeks (DIET) and 4 weeks (DIET + LC + BB). The mean urinary oxalate excretion was significantly higher after DIET versus baseline (27 +/- 8 vs. 35 +/- 11 mg/24 h), but the mean decrease was not significant between DIET + LC + BB and DIET periods (35 +/- 11 vs. 33 +/- 10 mg/24 h). Seven out of 14 patients presented a reduction in oxaluria after LC + BB versus DIET, being the reduction higher than 25% in 4, and up to 50% in 2 of them. The latter two patients were those who had presented the greatest increase in oxaluria in response to dietary oxalate. In conclusion, this mixture of L. casei and B. breve was shown to possess a variable lowering effect upon urinary oxalate excretion that may be dependent on dietary oxalate intake.

Cities that reinvent themselves must pay attention to social inclusion and green technologies, combined with smart management of the territory for sustainable urban development of new territories. This article aims to identify the concepts of Smart Sustainable Cities, according to the approach of the main referenced authors, besides identifying the production of patents related to the object of study. To do so, a bibliometric survey and patent data mining was carried out in September 2016. Data for the bibliometric study was collected in the databases Web of Science and Scopus and later on, processed through Bibexcel software. Crawler Patent2Net was used for the data mining of patents. After the research, it was concluded that the concepts of Smart Cities and Sustainable Cities converged over time. Smart Cities should be sustainable and offer quality of life and Sustainable Cities should use information and communication technologies to monitor the flow of resources. However, there are authors who say that these concepts are different. There is a theoretical gap about the concept and specific characteristics of Smart Sustainable Cities. The patent deposit on smart cities has been increasing since 2010. About 55.11% of the patents obtained in the survey of smart city were on wireless communication networks.

Purpose: To evaluate the cardioprotective response of the pharmacological modulation of β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR) in animal model of cardiac ischemia and reperfusion (CIR), in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive (NWR) rats. Methods: CIR was induced by the occlusion of left anterior descendent coronary artery (10 min) and reperfusion (75 min). The SHR was treated with β-AR antagonist atenolol (AT, 10 mg/kg, IV) 5 min before CIR, and NWR were treated with β-AR agonist isoproterenol (ISO, 0.5 mg/kg, IV) 5 min before CIR. Results: The treatment with AT increased the incidence of VA, AVB and LET in SHR, suggesting that spontaneous cardioprotection in hypertensive animals was abolished by blockade of β-AR. In contrast, the treatment with ISO significantly reduced the incidence of ventricular arrhythmia, atrioventricular blockade and lethality in NWR (30%, 20% and 20%, respectively), suggesting that the activation of β-AR stimulate cardioprotection in normotensive animals. Serum CK-MB were higher in SHR/CIR and NWR/CIR compared to respective SHAM group (not altered by treatment with AT or ISO). Conclusion: The pharmacological modulation of β-AR could be a new cardioprotective strategy for the therapy of myocardial dysfunctions induced by CIR related to cardiac surgery and cardiovascular diseases.

This article discusses the influence of environmental conditions on the prevalence of systemic hypertension in two riverine communities in the Sustainable Development Reserve of Tupé, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, through an ecological study of multiple groups and contextual analysis carried out with the local inhabitants. To identify the environmental etiology describing the risk of disease development, the study compares demographics, incidence rates and common daily practices in these communities, using data collected in the field, between 2012 and 2014, as well as values provided by IBGE, originally from National Health Survey, 2013. The results suggest that social and environmental determinants, such as general living conditions, occupation and access to protective health care, in the investigated communities, are relevant factors in explaining the observed variability in systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) incidence rates. The study concludes by pointing out the importance and need to consider socio-environmental vulnerability in the elaboration of public health policies and in the management of environmentally protected areas.