RESUMO: A contaminação por herbicidas de efeito prolongado no solo pode provocar alterações anatômicas de plantas sensíveis. Assim, este trabalho objetivou verificar as modificações anatômicas de caule e folha de tomateiro provocadas por diferentes concentrações de picloram em duas classes de solo da região amazônica. O trabalho foi desenvolvido na UNEMAT, em Alta Floresta-MT, em DIC, em esquema fatorial 2 x 5, com quatro repetições. Contaminaram-se um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo Ácrico (LVAw) e Neossolo Quartzarênico Órtico (RQo) com 0, 1, 2, 3 e 4 L ha-1 de Tordon®, deixando o solo exposto às intempéries climáticas. Aos 120 dias após a aplicação do herbicida, foram semeadas 10 sementes de tomateiro em amostras de ambos os solos. Aos 30 dias após a semeadura, secções transversais do caule e folha foram fixadas em FAA50, emblocadas em metacrilato, cortadas em micrótomo rotativo e coradas com azul de toluidina. Analisou-se a espessura dos tecidos do caule e folha. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância e regressão pelo programa estatístico Sisvar. O aumento da concentração de picloram provocou incremento na espessura do limbo foliar e do feixe vascular da folha em ambos os solos, com maior efeito em LVAw, onde ocorreu desorganização nos tecidos, com células do parênquima lacunoso irregulares e bastante colapsadas, com amplos espaços intercelulares. Também houve aumento no diâmetro do córtex e do cilindro vascular do caule até concentração de 2 L ha-1, mas em RQo as plantas apresentaram células mais achatadas e com espaços intercelulares conspícuos. As estruturas anatômicas da folha foram mais afetadas pelo herbicida.

ABSTRACT: Contamination by herbicides with a prolonged effect on the soil can cause anatomical changes in sensitive plants. Thus, this study aimed at verifying the anatomical changes of tomato stem and leaves caused by different concentrations of picloram in two classes of soil from the Amazon region. The study was developed at UNEMAT, Alta Floresta - Mato Grosso state, in a CRD, in a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement, with four replications. A clayey Rhodic Hapludox (LVAw) and a sandy clay loam Typic Ustipsamments (RQo) were contaminated with 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 L ha-1 of Tordon®, leaving the soil exposed to weathering. One-hundred and twenty days after the application of the herbicide, 10 tomato seeds were sown in samples of both soils. Thirty days after sowing, cross sections of stem and leaf were fixed in FAA50, immersed in methacrylate, cut into a rotary microtome and stained with toluidine blue. The thickness of stem and leaf tissues was analyzed. Data were submitted to analysis of variance and regression analysis by the statistical program Sisvar. The increase in the concentration of picloram caused an increase in the thickness of the leaf blade and in the vascular bundle of the leaf in both soils, with greater effect in the LVAw, where there was tissue disorganization, with irregular and quite collapsed lacunar parenchyma cells and large intercellular spaces. There was also an increase in the diameter of the cortex and in the vascular cylinder of the stem up to the concentration of 2 L ha-1, but in the RQo, plants had more flattened cells with conspicuous intercellular spaces. The anatomical structures of the leaf were more affected by this herbicide.

Objectives: In this study we present the development of a database of psychoactive drugs dispensed to patients attended by the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) in the city of Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais and the pattern of drug prescription in this city. Methods: 827 patients under psychoactive treatment and attended by SUS were surveyed and information such as gender, degree of education, age, marital status were collected. The collected data were analyzed in order to outline patients' profile and the dispensing and information was used to the access the pattern of psychoactive drug use in the city. Results: Women accounted for 67.2% of the population and age seemed to influence positively the use of psychoactive drugs. Benzodiazepines and antidepressants were among the most prescribed drugs especially after 20 years of age, while in the younger population the antipsychotics and antiepileptics were the mainly prescribed drugs. Antiepileptics/mood stabilizers seemed to be prescribed mainly to single men and women. Conclusion: Personal data concerning gender, age and marital status are related with psychoactive drug dispensing. The collected data will serve as a support for the performance of pharmacists responsible for dispensing psychoactive drugs in the municipality.

Objetivos: En este estudio presentamos el desarrollo de una base de datos de medicamentos psicoactivos dispensados a pacientes atendidos por el Sistema Público de Salud brasileño (SUS) en la ciudad de Manhuaçu, Minas Gerais y el patrón de prescripción en esta ciudad. Métodos: Se investigó a 827 pacientes bajo tratamiento con psicoactivos y atendidos por el SUS y se recogió información como género, nivel de educación, edad, estado civil. Los datos recogidos se analizaron para dibujar el perfil de los pacientes y la dispensación y la información se utilizó para crear el patrón de uso de psicoactivos en la ciudad. Resultados: Las mujeres sumaron el 67,2% de la población y la edad parecía influenciar positivamente el uso de medicamentos psicoactivos. Las benzodiazepinas y los antidepresivos estaban entre los medicamentos más prescritos, especialmente después de los 20 años, mientras que en la población más joven los antipsicóticos y los antiepilépticos fueron los medicamentos más prescritos. Los antiepilépticos y los estabilizadores del ánimo parecían ser prescritos principalmente a hombres y mujeres solteros. Conclusión: Los datos personales como género, edad y estado civil están relacionados con la dispensación de medicamentos psicoactivos. Los datos recogidos servirán como apoyo para la actuación de los farmacéuticos responsables de la dispensación de psicoactivos en el municipio.

It is well known that the kidney plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. The normal aging process leads to changes in kidney morphology, hemodynamics and function, which increase the incidence of cardiovascular events in the elderly population. These disturbances are influenced by several factors, including gender. In general, females are protected by the effects of estrogens on the cardiorenal system. Several studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of estrogens on renal function in the elderly; however, the relationships between androgens and kidney health during one’s lifetime are not well understood. Sex steroids have many complex actions, and the decline in their levels during aging clearly influences kidney function, decreases the renal reserve and facilitates the development of cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, in this review, we discuss the cellular, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms by which sex hormones may influence renal function during the aging process.

Nitric oxide (NO) influences renal blood flow mainly as a result of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). Nevertheless, it is unclear how nNOS expression is modulated by endogenous angiotensin II, an inhibitor of NO function. We tested the hypothesis that the angiotensin II AT1 receptor and oxidative stress mediated by NADPH oxidase contribute to the modulation of renal nNOS expression in two-kidney, one-clip (2K1C) hypertensive rats. Experiments were performed on male Wistar rats (150 to 170 g body weight) divided into 2K1C (N = 19) and sham-operated (N = 19) groups. nNOS expression in kidneys of 2K1C hypertensive rats (N = 9) was compared by Western blotting to that of 2K1C rats treated with low doses of the AT1 antagonist losartan (10 mg·kg-1·day-1; N = 5) or the superoxide scavenger tempol (0.2 mmol·kg-1·day-1; N = 5), which still remain hypertensive. After 28 days, nNOS expression was significantly increased by 1.7-fold in the clipped kidneys of 2K1C rats and by 3-fold in the non-clipped kidneys of 2K1C rats compared with sham rats, but was normalized by losartan. With tempol treatment, nNOS expression increased 2-fold in the clipped kidneys and 1.4-fold in the non-clipped kidneys compared with sham rats. The changes in nNOS expression were not followed by changes in the enzyme activity, as measured indirectly by the cGMP method. In conclusion, AT1 receptors and oxidative stress seem to be primary stimuli for increased nNOS expression, but this up-regulation does not result in higher enzyme activity.

Nephrolithiasis is one of the most common diseases in the Western world. The disease manifests itself with intensive pain, sporadic infections, and, sometimes, renal failure. The symptoms are due to the appearance of urinary stones (calculi) which are formed mainly by calcium salts. These calcium salts precipitate in the renal papillae and/or within the collecting ducts. Inherited forms of nephrolithiasis related to chromosome X (X-linked hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis or XLN) have been recently described. Hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, and male predominance are the major characteristics of these diseases. The gene responsible for the XLN forms of kidney stones was cloned and characterized as a chloride channel called ClC-5. The ClC-5 chloride channel belongs to a superfamily of voltage-gated chloride channels, whose physiological roles are not completely understood. The objective of the present review is to identify recent advances in the molecular pathology of nephrolithiasis, with emphasis on XLN. We also try to establish a link between a chloride channel like ClC-5, hypercalciuria, failure in urine acidification and protein endocytosis, which could explain the symptoms exhibited by XLN patients.