Abstract Neglected tropical diseases are a diverse group of communicable pathologies that mainly prevail in tropical and subtropical regions. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the biological potential of eight 4-(4-chlorophenyl)thiazole compounds. Tests were carried out in silico to evaluate the pharmacokinetic properties, the antioxidant, cytotoxic activities in animal cells and antiparasitic activities were evaluated against the different forms of Leishmania amazonensis and Trypanosoma cruzi in vitro. The in silico study showed that the evaluated compounds showed good oral availability. In a preliminary in vitro study, the compounds showed moderate to low antioxidant activity. Cytotoxicity assays show that the compounds showed moderate to low toxicity. In relation to leishmanicidal activity, the compounds presented IC50 values that ranged from 19.86 to 200 µM for the promastigote form, while for the amastigote forms, IC50 ranged from 101 to more than 200 µM. The compounds showed better results against the forms of T. cruzi with IC50 ranging from 1.67 to 100 µM for the trypomastigote form and 1.96 to values greater than 200 µM for the amastigote form. This study showed that thiazole compounds can be used as future antiparasitic agents. regions Thus 44chlorophenylthiazole chlorophenylthiazole 4 chlorophenyl properties availability activity toxicity IC IC5 1986 19 86 19.8 20 10 T 167 1 67 1.6 196 96 1.9 agents 198 8 19. 2 16 6 1. 9

We compared the pp65 antigen detection by an in house method (immunoperoxidase assay) and by a commercial kit (immunofluorescence assay) available for cytomegalovirus infection diagnosis in immunocompromised patients. Sixty-four blood samples were analyzed in duplicate for both techniques. Eight-six percent of the samples had concordant qualitative results. The discordant results occurred more frequently in samples with low quantity of positive cells. There were no significant differences with qualitative and quantitative results of the methods.

We determined and analyzed risk factors of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected Brazilian hemophiliacs according to their virological, clinical and epidemiological characteristics. A cross-sectional and retrospective study of 469 hemophiliacs was carried out at a Brazilian blood center starting in October 1997. The prevalence of HCV infection, HCV genotypes and factors associated with HCV RNA detection was determined. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibodies (ELISA-3.0) was 44.6% (209/469). Virological, clinical and epidemiological assessments were completed for 162 positive patients. There were seven (4.3%) anti-HCV seroconversions between October 1992 and October 1997. During the same period, 40.8% of the positive anti-HCV hemophiliacs had abnormal alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. Plasma HCV RNA was detected by nested-RT-PCR in 116 patients (71.6%). RFLP analysis showed the following genotype distribution: HCV-1 in 98 hemophiliacs (84.5%), HCV-3 in ten (8.6%), HCV-4 in three (2.6%), HCV-2 in one (0.9%), and not typeable in four cases (3.4%). Univariate analysis indicated that older age (P = 0.017) and abnormal ALT levels (P = 0.010) were associated with HCV viremia, while the presence of inhibitor antibodies (P = 0.024) and HBsAg (P = 0.007) represented a protective factor against the presence of HCV RNA. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between HCV infection and hemophilia.

Determinou-se a concentração mínima inibitória (CMI) de ampicilina, cefalotina, eritromicina, gentamicina, neomicina, norfloxacina, oxacilina, penicilina G, tetraciclina e tilosina para 112 amostras de Staphylococcus aureus isoladas de infecções intramamárias bovina, em 33 rebanhos leiteiros da Zona da Mata do Estado de Minas Gerais. Foram isoladas 24 amostras de infecção clínica, 66 de subclínica e 22 de infecção crônica. As amostras de infecção crônica foram isoladas repetidas vezes dos mesmos quartos mamários de nove vacas de um rebanho, no período de 13 meses. A CMI foi realizada em ágar Mueller Hinton, com concentrações entre 0,015 e 128µgml-1 de cada antimicrobiano. As amostras da American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) recomendadas para controle de qualidade, S. aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 e Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, foram incluídas em cada teste. Cem por cento das amostras foram susceptíveis à cefalotina, eritromicina, gentamicina, norfloxacina e oxacilina, 91% à tetraciclina (CMI50: 0,5µgml-1) e à tilosina (CMI50: 2,0µgml-1), 65% à ampicilina (CMI50: 0,125µgml-1) e à penicilina G (CMI50: 0,06µgml-1). Todas foram susceptíveis à neomicina (CMI50: 0,5µgml-1) exceto uma amostra que apresentou um padrão intermediário. O nível de resistência para ampicilina e penicilina foi maior nas amostras isoladas de casos clínicos e nas de infecção subclínica com escores positivos no CMT (P<0,02). Nas isoladas de infecção clínica, o nível de resistência à tilosina foi maior (P<0,02). As amostras que apresentaram CMI > ou = 0,125µgml-1 para penicilina foram positivas para produção de beta-lactamase.

The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for ampicillin, cephalothin, erythromycin, gentamicin, neomycin, norfloxacin, oxacillin, penicillin G, tetracycline and tylosin against 112 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine intramammary infections were determined. The strains were originated from 33 dairy herds located in the Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais State. Twenty-four strains were isolated from clinical cases of mastitis, 66 from subclinical infections and 22 from chronic infections. The chronic infection strains were isolated from the same mammary quarters of nine cows of one herd over a period of 13 months. The MIC was performed on Mueller Hinton agar and concentrations, ranging from 0.015 to 128µgml-1, were evaluated for each antimicrobial agent. The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) recommended quality control strains, S. aureus ATCC 29213, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, were included on each batch of test. All strains were susceptible to cephalothin, erythromycin, gentamicin, norfloxacin and oxacillin, 91% were susceptible to tetracycline (MIC50: 0.5µgml-1) and tylosin (MIC50: 2.0µgml-1), 65% to ampicillin (MIC50: 0.125µgml-1) and penicillin G (MIC50: 0.06µgml-1). All strains but one in the intermediate pattern, were susceptible to neomycin (MIC50: 0.5µgml-1). The resistance levels to ampicillin and penicillin were higher in strains isolated from clinical and subclinical (positive scores on CMT) cases (P<0.02). The resistance level to tylosin was also higher among the strains isolated from clinical infections (P<0.02). The strains with MIC > or = 0.125µgml-1 to penicillin were positive for ß-lactamase production.

The effect of the consumption of ethanol (5%) on retinol concentration in milk was studied in the rat on day 12 after delivery, together with the evolution of dam body weight and pup growth rate. Female Wistar rats receiving alcohol (5%) in drinking water during lactation (N = 7) were compared to normal controls fed ad libitum (N = 6). The mean maternal alcohol intake was 3.96 ± 0.23 g/kg body weight per day. To determine retinol levels in milk we used the Bessey and Lowry method, modified by Araújo and Flores ((1978) Clinical Chemistry, 24: 386-392). The pups were separated from dams for a 2-4-h period, after which the dams were injected intraperitoneally with anesthetic and oxytocin. The concentration of retinol in milk was 162.88 ± 10.60 µg/dl in the control group and 60.02 ± 8.22 µg/dl in the ethanol group (P<0.05). The ethanol group consumed less food than the controls and lost a significant amount of weight during lactation. On days 8, 10 and 12, the body weight of the pups from rats given ethanol (13.46 ± 0.43, 16.12 ± 0.48 and 18.60 ± 0.91 g, respectively) were significantly lower (P<0.05) than the weight of pups from controls (15.2 ± 0.44, 18.36 ± 0.54, 20.77 ± 0.81 g). These data show that ethanol intake during the suckling period, even at low concentrations, decreases the amount of retinol in milk and, therefore, the amount available to the pups.