Abstract INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae.This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological, temporal, and spatial dynamics ofleprosy in a municipality in northeastern Brazil. METHODS: This is an ecological study on new leprosy cases in the population of Arapiraca (Alagoas, Northeast Region, Brazil), from 2008 to 2017. Data extracted from a national database were analyzed forepidemiological indicators, factors associated with physical disabilities, and spatialanalysis in the neighborhoods of Arapiraca. RESULTS: A total of 292 new cases of leprosy were recorded, particularly occurring among the following groups: women, the age group of 46-59 years, brown-skinned individuals, people with less than eight years of schooling, and urban residents; the new cases were also predominantly the tuberculoid form and were of the paucibacillary classification of the disease. Almost 1/3 of the people had some degree of physical disability, which was mainly associated with the group 60 years of age and older, black ethnicity, and the multibacillary clinical form of leprosy. The joinpoint regression showed a stationary temporal behavior of indicators. There was a heterogeneous spatial distribution with active transmission areas, especially in the neighborhoods Primavera, Baixão, Ouro Preto, and downtown. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological indicators revealed complexity in the process of leprosy development. These spatial and temporal studies are relevant to help in the planning, monitoring, and guidance of interventions in the municipality. The spatial analysis showed heterogeneous distribution in the analyzed neighborhoods.

Acinetobacter baumannii es una bacteria, causante de infecciones asociadas a la atención en salud como neumonía, septicemia, meningitis e infecciones urinarias entre otras. Se caracteriza por su capacidad para desarrollar y acumular rápidamente una gran variedad de mecanismos de resistencia a antibióticos. En esta investigación se realizó el análisis genómico de una cepa de A. baumannii ABIBUN 107m que forma parte de un clon persistente en hospitales colombianos, resistente a los antibióticos carbapenémicos (imipenem y meropenem), antibióticos de elección en el tratamiento infecciones causadas por este microorganismo. El genoma de esta bacteria fue secuenciado utilizando técnicas de alto rendimiento, ensamblado y anotado, obteniéndose un genoma constituido por 3954000 pb con 56 contigs; consta de 4256 genes con un tamaño promedio de 912 pb; 3796 CDS de los cuales por anotación 2884 se asignaron a COG; 57 tRNA y un porcentaje de GC de 38,74%. A. baumannii ABIBUN 107m es resistente a β-lactámicos, aminoglicósidos, quinolonas, tetraciclina, sulfonamida y colistina. En su genoma se localizaron genes asociados con el perfil de resistencia ya que presenta serin β-lactamasas (blaADC-38, blaOXA-64, blaOXA-23, bla ampC-like, bla amp(H)-like), metalo β-lactamasa_B; proteínas de unión a penicilina de elevada masa molecular, secuencias de inserción tipo ISAba1; mutaciones en los genes de DNA girasa y topoisomerasa IV subunidad A (gyrA y parC); enzimas modificadoras de aminoglicósidos (aphA-like, aad -like); cloranfenicol aciltransferasa (cat) y dehidropteroato sintasa (sul-1). Se identificaron genes pertenecientes a cinco familias de sistemas de eflujo (RND, MATE, MSF, ATP, SMR).

Acinetobacter baumannii is a bacterium causing health care associated infections such as pneumonia, septicemia, meningitis and urinary infections amongst others. It has great capacity to quickly develop and gather a big variety of drug resistance mechanisms. In this research, the genome of strain A. baumannii ABIBUN 107m was analyzed wich forms part of a persistent clon in Colombian hospitals and it’s also resistant to carbapenems (imipenem and meropenem), which are the election antibiotics for treatment of infections caused by this microorganism. The genome was sequenced using high performance technology, assembled and annotated. As a result, we obtained a 3954000 bp genome, with 56 contigs; 4256 genes with average size of 912 bp; 3796 CDS; 2884 were assigned to COG; 57 tRNA and GC percentage of 38,74%. The A. baumannii strain ABIBUN 107m, is resistant to the following antibiotic groups: β-lactams, aminoglycosides, quinolones, tetracycline, sulfonamide and colistin. Genes associated with this resistance profile were found in A. baumannii ABIBUN 107m genome serino β-lactamases (blaADC-38, blaOXA-64, blaOXA-23, bla ampC-like, bla amp(H)-like), metallo β-lactamase_B; High Molecular Mass penicillin binding proteins, ISAba1 type insertion sequences, mutations of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV subunit A (gyrA and parC); aminoglycoside modifying enzymes (aphA-like, aadA-like); choramphenicol acyltransferase (cat) and dehydropteroate synthase (sul-1). Genes belonging to five different efflux systems were identified (RND, MATE, MSF, ATP, SMR).

A decocção das cascas do caule de Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth é um medicamento popular usado para tratar doenças inflamatórias na América Latina e no Brasil. Neste estudo, a atividade de cicatrização de feridas do extrato aquoso da casca do caule de B. virgilioides, chamado AEBv, foi avaliada pela contração da ferida e pelo período de epitelização em diferentes dias pós-ferida usando o modelo ferida excisional. No nono dia, os animais tratados com AEBv apresentaram uma redução significativa na área da ferida, quando comparados com os controles. Nas feridas infectadas com S. aureus, o AEBv melhorou significativamente a contração da ferida quando comparado com os camundongos tratados com solução salina. A análise histológica mostrou que AEBv induziu uma deposição de colágeno, aumento na contagem de fibroblastos e poucas células inflamatórias do que em relação ao grupo tratado com solução salina. A expressão de colágeno tipo I mostrou-se aumentada no grupo tratado com AEBv como indicado pela coloração imuno histoquímica. In vitro, o AEBv foi eficaz apenas contra S. aureus, mas não contra P. aeruginosa. Juntos, os resultados deste estudo demonstram, pela primeira vez, a cura e os efeitos antimicrobianos do extrato aquoso da casca do caule de B. virgilioides na terapia de feridas cutâneas.

The decoction of the stem barks from Bowdichia virgilioides KUNTH is a folk remedy used to treat inflammatory disorders in Latin American and Brazil. In the present study, the wound healing activity of aqueous extract of the stem bark from B. virgilioides, called AEBv, was evaluated by the rate of healing by wound contraction and period of epithelization at different days post-wound using the wound excisional model. On day 9, the AEBv-treated animals exhibited significative reduction in the wound area when compared with controls. In wound infected with S. aureus, the AEBv significantly improved the wound contraction when compared to the saline-treated mice. The histological analysis showed that AEBv induced a collagen deposition, increase in the fibroblast count and few inflammatory cells than compared to saline-treated group. The expression of collagen type I was increased in the group treated with AEBv as indicated by immunohistochemical staining. In vitro, the AEBv was effective only against S. aureus but not against P. aeruginosa. Together, the results of this study demonstrate, for the first time, the healing and antimicrobiological effects of aqueous extract of the stem bark from B. virgilioides in the therapy of skin wounds.

Current therapeutic for the treatment of anxiety is associated with a wild variety of side effects. The traditional use of plant extract to health care can indicate an important source of new pharmaceuticals. Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth, Fabaceae, is a plant commonly employed in the Brazilian folk medicine to treat inflammatory conditions. Nevertheless, despite its popular use there are no studies related to its possible neuropharmacological effect. Here, we investigated the possible anxiolytic effect of the extract of B. virgilioides after acute and sub-chronic treatment in mice. The aqueous extract from the stem barks of B. virgilioides (20, 200 or 400 mg/kg) was orally administered, and its anxiolytic effect was evaluated in the elevated plus maze, open-field and rota-rod tests. Diazepam was employed as standard drug. The aqueous extract treatment was effective in inducing anxiolytic effects with single acute treatment, a phenomenon that remained after chronic treatment. However, no changes in spontaneous locomotor activity or myorelaxant effect after aqueous extract treatment. The extract was either safe with no deaths in mice treated orally with 1000 mg/kg. These findings suggest that the aqueous extract from the stem barks of Bowdichia virgilioides has an acute and sub-chronic anxiolytic-like effect without compromising motor activity, demonstrating an advantage regarding to antidepressant drugs.

Introducción. Las diferentes formas de seleccionar polimorfismos de nucleótido único se han relacionado con conclusiones paradójicas respecto a su utilidad para predecir el síndrome de fatiga crónica, incluso utilizando los mismos datos. Objetivo. Evaluar la eficacia para predecir este síndrome de los polimorfismos seleccionados mediante un enfoque supervisado, método que permite ayudar a identificar el perfil óptimo de los polimorfismos. Materiales y métodos. Se eliminaron los polimorfismos que no estaban en equilibrio de Hardy- Weinberg. Luego obtuvimos el perfil de polimorfismos mediante el enfoque supervisado y evaluamos tres aspectos: comparación de la exactitud de predicción con la del perfil obtenido mediante una selección basada en el desequilibrio de ligamiento, evaluación de la eficacia para determinar un estrato con mayor riesgo y estimación de la influencia del algoritmo de clasificación sobre la exactitud de predicción. Resultados. Se obtuvo un perfil válido (p<0,01) con mayor exactitud que el basado en el desequilibrio de ligamiento, 72,8 Vs. 62,2 % (p<0,01), que incluyó el alelo mayor de NR3C1_11159943 y el menor de 5HTT_7911132, conocidos polimorfismos asociados a este síndrome. El dolor muscular o los síntomas de los senos paranasales en el estrato con el perfil, predijeron la presencia del síndrome con mayor exactitud que estos síntomas en toda la población, 87,1 % Vs. 70,4 % (p<0,01) y 92,5 % Vs. 71,8 % (p<0,01) respectivamente. El perfil llevó a una exactitud similar con diferentes algoritmos. Conclusiones. El enfoque supervisado permitió descubrir un perfil válido y confiable de polimorfismos asociado al síndrome de fatiga crónica. Se encontró la mayor exactitud reportada con estos datos que aumentó al combinarse con las variables clínicas.

Introduction: The different ways for selecting single nucleotide polymorphisms have been related to paradoxical conclusions about their usefulness in predicting chronic fatigue syndrome even when using the same dataset. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy in predicting this syndrome by using polymorphisms selected by a supervised approach that is claimed to be a method that helps identifying their optimal profile. Materials and methods: We eliminated those polymorphisms that did not meet the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Next, the profile of polymorphisms was obtained through the supervised approach and three aspects were evaluated: comparison of prediction accuracy with the accuracy of a profile that was based on linkage disequilibrium, assessment of the efficacy in determining a higher risk stratum, and estimating the algorithm influence on accuracy. Results: A valid profile (p<0.01) was obtained with a higher accuracy than the one based on linkage disequilibrium, 72.8 vs. 62.2% (p<0.01). This profile included two known polymorphisms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome, the NR3C1_11159943 major allele and the 5HTT_7911132 minor allele. Muscular pain or sinus nasal symptoms in the stratum with the profile predicted V with a higher accuracy than those symptoms in the entire dataset, 87.1 vs. 70.4% (p<0.01) and 92.5 vs. 71.8% (p<0.01) respectively. The profile led to similar accuracies with different algorithms. Conclusions: The supervised approach made it possible to discover a reliable profile of polymorphisms associated with this syndrome. Using this profile, accuracy for this dataset was the highest reported and it increased when the profile was combined with clinical data.

Las cefotaximasas (CTX-M) son las beta-lactamasas de espectro extendido más ampliamente diseminadas entre especies de la familia Enterobacteriaceae, y son la causa principal de resistencia en aislamientos causantes de infección intrahospitalaria. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue identificar variantes de cefotaximasas del grupo CTX-M-1 mediante el análisis del polimorfismo conformacional de cadena sencilla (SSCP) de fragmentos de restricción provenientes de los productos de la amplificación por PCR de los genes blaCTX-M. Con el procedimiento PCR-SSCP estandarizado, en este trabajo se analizaron 49 aislamientos de enterobacterias recolectados en 8 hospitales de Bogotá, D.C., adscritos a la Secretaría Distrital de Salud. Se detectaron las variantes CTX-M-12, CTX-M-15, CTX-M-12a, y CTX-M-1 y una nueva variante denominada CTX-M-60. Todas las variantes fueron detectadas tanto en aislamientos intrahospitalarios como de la comunidad, lo que indica posible movilidad de estos genes desde y hacia los centros hospitalarios. Esta publicación constituye el primer reporte en Colombia de la variante CTXM-12a y la nueva variante evolutiva CTX-M-60.

CTX-M cefotaximases are the most widely distributed extended-spectrum beta-lactamases among Enterobacteriaceae and they are an important cause of microbial resistance in nosocomial infection-causing isolates. The object of this work was to identify group 1 CTX-M cefotaximase variants from PCR amplified blaCTX-M genes by single-stranded conformational polymorphism of restriction fragments (RF-SSCP). We analysed 49 Enterobacteria isolates using the RF-SSCP procedure standardised in this work; isolates were collected from eight hospitals attached to the Bogota Health Secretariat (Secretaría Distrital de Salud). CTX-M-12, CTX-M-15, CTX-M-12a and CTX-M-1 variants were detected as well as a new one, designated CTX-M-60. All variants were detected in hospital and community isolates thereby indicating these genes’ possible high mobility from and towards hospital centres. This study represents the first report in Colombia of CTXM-12a and of the new evolutionary variant: CTX-M-60.

El seguimiento epidemiológico y farmacológico de la resistencia a antibióticos ß-lactámicos mediada por la presencia de ß-lactamasas requiere identificación precisa, lo cual es posible mediante la secuencia del gen, que es identificado con herramientas bioinformáticas que se incorporan a sistemas de información. Para implementar un prototipo de sistema de información que permite clasificar secuencias de genes de ß-lactamasas producidas por microorganismos resistentes aislados en hospitales y realizar su cruce con los datos clínicos, se obtuvieron las secuencias de ß-lactamasas reportadas a escala mundial en la base de datos Uniprot utilizando el sistema de recuperación de secuencias (SRS) del Instituto Europeo de Bioinformática (EBI), se diseñó un sistema de datos moleculares y clínicos usando "Unified Modeling Language" (UML), y se generó un modelo implementado en un servidor con sistema operativo UNIX, gestor de bases de datos MySQL para realizar la creación de la base de datos y lenguajes de programación Perl y PHP para implementar programas y cruzar datos. El sistema de información BLA-ID-CLINIC permite hacer el cruce de datos moleculares y clínicos, de tal forma que se puedan identificar las ß-lactamasas de microorganismos resistentes en hospitales y hacer un seguimiento del manejo de los antibióticos y el comportamiento epidemiológico, modelo bioinformático permanentemente actualizado, disponible a través de Internet en http://bioinf.ibun.unal.edu.oc/BLA_ID_CLINIC.

The epidemiology and pharmacology of the b-lactamic antibiotics resistance at hospital level mediate by the presence of ß-lactamasas requires of their precise identification, possible through the gene sequence that can be identified using bioinformatics tools and incorporated into the information systems. Prototype of information system BAL-ID-CLINIC was implemented for allowing genes sequences classification of ß-lactamases produced by isolated resistant microorganisms in hospitals and their crossing with the clinical data. The information system was development using Unified Modeling Language UML and the prototype was implemented in an Unix server, using MySQL management system for data base building and Perl and PHP as a programming languages for writing scripts that obtain cross relationship between the different kind of data inside the system and the result report presentation. BLA-ID-CLINIC allows crossing of molecular and clinical data. It can identify ß-lactamasas produced by resistant microorganisms isolated in hospital patients and can give information related with the antibiotics management and the epidemiologic behavior. The bioinformatics prototype BLA-ID-CLINIC is permanently updated and available through Internet in http://bioinf.ibun.unal.edu.oc/BLA_ID_CLINIC.

El diseño y desarrollo de formulaciones farmacéuticas está soportado en la selección adecuada y crítica tanto de excipientes como de procesos que le permitan al químico farmacéutico obtener un producto estable, seguro y eficaz. Los auxiliares optativos como los colorantes pueden desempeñar un papel importante en la estabilidad y en la presentación de un producto farmacéutico, pero en ocasiones la información disponible se encuentra dispersa y, en general, no está actualizada, lo que aumenta el tiempo de búsqueda para llevar a cabo una selección adecuada. En el presente trabajo se desarrolló un sistema de información que no sólo recopila información de las propiedades fisicoquímicas de los colorantes aprobados en Colombia, sino que también permite al usuario hacer una selección crítica de los colorantes más apropiados para una formulación farmacéutica, teniendo en cuenta los criterios químicos y físicos que son considerados para obtener un medicamento o cosmético con las propiedades esperadas.

Design and development of pharmaceutical formulations is supported by a critical selection of excipients and standard processes that allows Pharmaceutical Chemists to obtain an efficient and safe product. Excipients like colorants are very important in the stability and the final presentation of drugs, but the available information about the colorants used in pharmaceutical preparations is not always updated and not available to the public use, and in general it increases the time for searching and selection. The Information system SINCO was developed for compiling physical and chemical properties data of colorants approved in Colombia that allows the user to make a critical selection of the most compatible colorants for the pharmaceutical formulations.

The prevalence of atopic diseases and diabetes is increasing worldwide though the concurrence of these pathologies in individual patients is found less frequent than it would be predicted. Moreover, co-existence of diabetes and allergy is generally marked by attenuation of their respective symptoms, and effective treatment of one disease exacerbates the other. This review gives an update of the state-of-the-art concerning the intercurrence of allergy and diabetes, particularly focusing on the consequences to the allergen-evoked vascular and cellular changes. It is proposed that the reduction in mast cell numbers and reactivity may be a pivotal mechanism behind the mutual exclusion phenomenon.

Previous studies have evidenced for the existence of interactive regulatory mechanisms between insulin and steroid hormones in different systems. In this study, we have investigated whether endogenous corticosteroids could be implicated in the hyporeactivity to antigen challenge observed in sensitized diabetic rats. Alloxinated rats showed a long-lasting increase in the blood glucose levels and a reduction in the number of pleural mast cells at 48 and 72 hr, but not at 24 hr after alloxan administration. In parallel, they also showed a significant elevation in the plasma levels of corticosterone together with an increase in the adrenal/body weight ratio. Antigen-evoked eosinophil accumulation appeared significantly reduced in rats pretreated with dexamethasone as well as in those rendered diabetic 72 hr after alloxan. In the same way, naive animals treated with dexamethasone also responded with a significant decrease in the number of pleural mast cells. Interestingly, when sensitized diabetic rats were pretreated with the steroid antagonist RU 38486 a reversion of the reduction in the allergen-induced eosinophil accumulation was noted. We conclude that the down-regulation of the allergic inflammatory response in diabetic rats is close-related to reduction in mast cell numbers and over expression of endogenous corticosteroids.